Tycoons China

Zhang Ligang risked everything to secure a spot at Harvard Medical school. Despite everything he dropped out before completing his PhD. Yet he returned home to China with a golden job offer and in less than 5 years he’d already made his first millions by building a selling an online company. His latest venture has now raised him to Billionaire status.

Chinese media have given Huang many nicknames -- solar madman, ambassador of renewable energies, sun king and solar patriarch -- for his contribution and perseverance in promoting solar energy use. But before all this he spent two decades working in the oil industry.

"Wang Dafu has always liked to make money. After leaving Hainan island for Shenzhen he dabbled in various trades, including selling TVs, video recorders and men's clothing. Yet there were times when he struggled to afford enough food.

After winning a scholarship to a presticious American university Sophie Sun worked on Wall Street. Many would have been happy to reach those lofty goals, but Sophie needed more of a challenge. Sun Duofei, her sister, an avid shopper was also in the US studying fashion and bringing back clothes, high and low end, to Beijing.

Judy Chan was analyst at Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong, when her father asked her to take over the family business. At only 24, she moved to Shanxi in China, and faced challenges of being the youngest member of the company, and a woman. In just 14 years, she has turned the company into an award winning recognised brand, distributing her wines outside of China.

Today, Bosideng has 12,665 shops all over China, and is redefining the way Chinese fashion is seen abroad. With branches in Rome, London and even a New York presence Gao De Kang is seen as a groundbreaking influence competing with the likes of Hugo Boss - but it wasn’t always smooth sailing.

Lui Che Woo is something of an accidental gambling magnate. His family left for Hong Kong in the mid-1930s, and to bring in income, he helped them by selling food in the street. He was marked by the suffering he saw during the Second World War but out of the wreckage of war came his first wealth.