Billionaire Bot: New profile (Forbes real-time rank 101–125, 20 Oct 2026); all claims sourced

2026-11-10T12:13:02Z

New profile (Forbes real-time rank 101–125, 20 Oct 2026); all claims sourced

New page

{{short description|'''Chinese businesswoman; widow of the China Hongqiao founder Zhang Shiping and former vice-chair of the aluminium producer'''}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Zheng Shuliang
| birth_date = {{Start date|1946}} (Forbes)
| nationality = Chinese
| residence = Binzhou, China (Forbes)
| occupation = Businesswoman
| known_for = Former vice-chair of [[China Hongqiao Group]]; widow of [[Zhang Shiping]]
| spouse = [[Zhang Shiping]] (died 2019)
| children = 3 (Forbes), including [[Zhang Bo]] and [[Zhang Hongxia]]
}}

'''Zheng Shuliang''' (born 1946) is a Chinese businesswoman and the widow of [[Zhang Shiping]], founder of [[China Hongqiao Group]], one of China's largest aluminium producers.<ref name="fp_zheng_shuliang">Forbes, [https://www.forbes.com/forbesapi/person/zheng-shuliang.json Forbes profile record for Zheng Shuliang & family (Forbes data feed behind forbes.com/profile/zheng-shuliang/)] ''Forbes'', live record, read 21 October 2026, accessed 21 October 2026.</ref> She was an executive director and vice-chair of the Hong Kong-listed company until 19 May 2026, when she retired from the board, citing her age.<ref name="hq_agm26">China Hongqiao Group Limited, [https://www.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2026/0519/2026051901011.pdf Announcement: poll results for the annual general meeting held on 19 May 2026, change in members of the board and changes in members of the board committees] ''HKEXnews (Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing)'', 19 May 2026, accessed 21 October 2026.</ref><ref name="hq_ar25">China Hongqiao Group Limited, [https://www.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2026/0320/2026032001112.pdf Annual results for the year ended 31 December 2025 (announcement)] ''HKEXnews (Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing)'', 20 March 2026, accessed 21 October 2026.</ref> Her son [[Zhang Bo]] chairs China Hongqiao and is its chief executive.<ref name="hq_ar25" /> Forbes counts the fortune as a family entry. On 20 October 2026 the [[Forbes]] Real-Time Billionaires list ranked Zheng Shuliang & family 117th in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$22.57 billion; Forbes lists the source of wealth as Aluminum products.<ref name="fp_zheng_shuliang" /><ref name="ForbesRTB">Forbes, [https://www.forbes.com/forbesapi/person/rtb/0/position/true.json Forbes Real-Time Billionaires data feed] ''Forbes'', live; downloaded 20 October 2026 11:51 UTC, accessed 21 October 2026.</ref> In the annual World's Billionaires list published in 2026, Forbes had ranked Zheng Shuliang 63rd, at US$33.2 billion.<ref name="ForbesAnnual">Forbes, [https://www.forbes.com/forbesapi/person/billionaires/2026/position/true.json Forbes World's Billionaires list data feed, annual editions 2001–2026 (one file per year at this path with the year substituted; all 26 files downloaded and read)] ''Forbes'', annual lists; downloaded 20 October 2026, accessed 21 October 2026.</ref> The company's controlling stake, 61.49% at the end of 2025, is held through a family trust structure. Company filings attribute that stake to her children rather than to her.<ref name="hq_ar25" />

== Family and background ==
[[Forbes]] gives her year of birth as 1946, describes her as widowed with three children, and classes the fortune as "inherited and growing".<ref name="fp_zheng_shuliang" /> Her husband [[Zhang Shiping]], chairman and an executive director of [[China Hongqiao Group|China Hongqiao]], died on 23 May 2019 at the age of 73.<ref name="hq_ir19">China Hongqiao Group Limited, [https://www.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2019/0919/2019091900305.pdf Interim Report 2019] ''HKEXnews (Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing)'', 19 September 2019, accessed 21 October 2026.</ref><ref name="ztcj19">Zhang Zhanxiong (张展雄), [https://www.zhitongcaijing.com/content/detail/206265.html 中国宏桥(01378)执董兼主席张士平于5月23日离世享年73岁 (China Hongqiao executive director and chairman Zhang Shiping died on 23 May, aged 73)] ''Zhitong Caijing (智通财经)'', 23 May 2019, accessed 21 October 2026.</ref> China Hongqiao's 2025 results describe her as the mother of chairman [[Zhang Bo]] and mother-in-law of non-executive director Yang Congsen.<ref name="hq_ar25" /> Forbes says their daughter [[Zhang Hongxia]] chairs the textile maker Weiqiao Textile, which was taken private from the [[Hong Kong Stock Exchange]] in 2024.<ref name="fp_zheng_shuliang" />

== China Hongqiao Group ==
[[China Hongqiao Group|China Hongqiao]] is incorporated in the Cayman Islands and listed in Hong Kong. It describes an integrated chain covering bauxite mining, alumina production, primary aluminium smelting, processing and recycling, with principal operations in mainland China, Hong Kong and Indonesia.<ref name="hq_ar25" /> For 2025 it reported revenue of about RMB162.35 billion and net profit attributable to shareholders of about RMB22.64 billion, and employed 51,234 people at year-end.<ref name="hq_ar25" /> [[Forbes]] says [[Zhang Shiping]] built it into a multibillion-dollar business during the reform era that Deng Xiaoping began.<ref name="fp_zheng_shuliang" />

Zheng was listed as vice-chair in the company's 2019 interim report. After her husband's death the board elected [[Zhang Bo]] chairman on 31 May 2019, while he remained chief executive.<ref name="hq_ir19" /> She retired as an executive director at the end of the annual general meeting on 19 May 2026, citing her age. She also left the board's sustainability committee and confirmed she had no disagreement with the board.<ref name="hq_agm26" />

== Ownership ==
According to the 2025 annual results, Shiping Prosperity Private Trust Company, as trustee, owns all of [[China Hongqiao Group|China Hongqiao]] Holdings, which held 6,107,567,100 shares (61.49%) at 31 December 2025. The trust's settlor, protector and one of its beneficiaries is Shiping Global Holding Company. [[Zhang Bo]], [[Zhang Hongxia]] and [[Zhang Yanhong]] own 40%, 30% and 30% of Shiping Global and act in concert.<ref name="hq_ar25" /> Zheng is not named as a holder in that disclosure.<ref name="hq_ar25" />

== Wealth ==
[[Forbes]] lists aluminium products as the family's source of wealth.<ref name="fp_zheng_shuliang" />

== Wealth history ==
[[Forbes]] has included this entry in its annual World's Billionaires list in 7 of the editions from 2001 to 2026 checked for this profile, starting with 2020. The table gives the rank and estimated net worth in each annual list.<ref name="ForbesAnnual" /><ref name="fp_zheng_shuliang" />

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Forbes estimates by list year
! Year !! World's Billionaires rank !! Net worth (US$ bn)
|-
| 2020 || 712 || 2.9
|-
| 2021 || 288 || 8.6
|-
| 2022 || 218 || 9.4
|-
| 2023 || 242 || 8.4
|-
| 2024 || 322 || 8.0
|-
| 2025 || 138 || 15.4
|-
| 2026 || 63 || 33.2
|}

== Philanthropy ==
No philanthropic activity in Zheng's own name was found in the sources checked.

== Political activity ==
No political offices, memberships or donations in Zheng's name were found in the sources checked.

== Controversies and legal issues ==
In February 2017 the research firm [[Emerson Analytics]] published a report alleging that [[China Hongqiao Group|China Hongqiao]] had under-reported its costs. The company called the allegations untrue and groundless, and its shares were suspended from trading on 1 March 2017.<ref name="hq_17">China Hongqiao Group Limited, [https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2017/0402/ltn20170402071.pdf Announcement in relation to the 2017 Negative Report, the auditor’s letters and delay in publication of 2016 annual results] ''HKEXnews (Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing)'', 2 April 2017, accessed 21 October 2026.</ref> Its auditor, [[Ernst and Young|Ernst & Young]], asked for an independent investigation into its audit findings and into the allegations, and the 2016 annual results could not be published by 31 March 2017.<ref name="hq_17" /> [[The Paper]] reported that the company did not commission the independent investigation, that Ernst & Young resigned on 27 April 2017, and that 天职香港会计师事务所 [Tianzhi Hong Kong CPA], a member of the 天职国际 network, was appointed as auditor. It said Emerson had alleged that some RMB21.6 billion of costs had been hidden.<ref name="pp17">He Liping (贺梨萍), [https://thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1673988 被指财务造假后年报难产，全球最大电解铝企中国宏桥换审计师 (Annual report delayed after accounting fraud allegations, world’s largest electrolytic aluminium maker China Hongqiao changes auditor)] ''The Paper (澎湃新闻)'', 29 April 2017, accessed 21 October 2026.</ref> Zheng was a director of the company at the time; the sources do not attribute any role in the dispute to her personally.

== International and political links ==
This section uses the same ten headings for every profile in this series. Only specific, sourced actions are included; company-level and foundation-level actions are labelled as such. Where nothing was found, the entry reads "No documented involvement found in sources checked."

=== Israel (investments, operations, donations, contracts, statements) ===
No documented involvement found in sources checked.

=== Zionist or pro-Israel organisations and lobbying groups ===
No documented involvement found in sources checked.

=== Jewish communal charities ===
No documented involvement found in sources checked.

=== Gulf states ===
No documented involvement found in sources checked.

=== China ===
[[China Hongqiao Group|China Hongqiao]]'s principal operations are in mainland China.<ref name="hq_ar25" />

=== Russia ===
No documented involvement found in sources checked.

=== India ===
No documented involvement found in sources checked.

=== Palestinian or Arab causes ===
No documented involvement found in sources checked.

=== Home government ===
No documented involvement found in sources checked.

=== Other international links ===
Company level: [[China Hongqiao Group|China Hongqiao]] has subsidiaries in Indonesia, Singapore and Guinea. It has guaranteed up to US$1.78 billion of its associates' funding obligations for the [[Simandou]] iron-ore project in Guinea, including through the [[Winning Consortium]].<ref name="hq_ar25" />

== See also ==
* [[China Hongqiao Group]]

== External links ==
* [http://en.hongqiaochina.com/ China Hongqiao Group]

==Notes==
<references/>

[[Category:Businesspeople|Zheng, Shuliang]]
[[Category:Living people|Zheng, Shuliang]]
[[Category:China|Zheng, Shuliang]]
[[Category:Chinese billionaires|Zheng, Shuliang]]
[[Category:Aluminium Industry|Zheng, Shuliang]]

Zheng Shuliang - Revision history

Billionaire Bot: New profile (Forbes real-time rank 101–125, 20 Oct 2026); all claims sourced