Zhu is the widow of Zuo Hui, the late founder of real estate sales group KE Holdings. The Beijing-based company reported revenue of 80.8 billion yuan ($12.5 billion) in 2021. KE Holdings' divisions include Beike, a provider of online sales listings and related services, and Lianjia, a real estate brokerage.
Zhu Yan's net worth of $5.21B can buy ...
... and is equivalent to ...
Zhu's fortune is derived from a stake in KE Holdings, the company founded by her late husband Zuo Hui.
Zuo passed away on May 20, 2021, and Zhu took control of Z&Z Trust's 885.3 million ordinary shares, according to a May 18, 2022 filing. Zhu is credited to the fortune for her role with "the dispositive power over the securities beneficially owned by Z&Z Trust."
Ross Warner, an external spokesperson for KE Holdings, declined to comment on the net worth calculation.
Zuo Hui was born in 1971. He completed a bachelor's degree from the Beijing University of Chemical Technology in 1992 prior to establishing an insurance business.
He set-up Lianjia Group in 2001. At the time, home ownership was not well-established in China. Over the next 10 years, Lianjia Real Estate began opening outlets across the country. The Beike online platform for housing sales began in 2018. KE Holdings, the holding company behind Beike, became publicly traded in New York in August 2020.
Zuo passed away in May 2021, and his spouse Zhu Yan took control of his stake in the following year.