6 Chinese women have made it to Forbes list of world’s 100 most powerful women

The Chinese contingent on the Forbes Magazine galley including Lucy Peng (Peng Lei), 42-year old co-founder of Alibaba Group; Dr. Margaret Chan, World Health Organization director general; China’s First Lady Peng Liyuan; Zhang Xin, co-founder of property company SOHO; Hong Kong businesswoman Solina Chau; and actress-activist Yao Chen.

5 women from mainland China and 1 Hong Kong women are amongst the top 100 most powerful women in the world.

1. Lucy Peng (#33)

China’s most powerful woman is 42-year-old Chongqing native Lucy Peng (Peng Lei), one of co-founders of China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba Group and CEO of Alibaba finance services arm Ant Financial Services Group.

2. Dr. Margaret Chan (Hong Kong-born) (#62)

Landing at #62 on the list is 68-year-old Hong Kong-born Margaret Chan. In her role as the Director-General of the World Health Organisation since 2006, Chan has been responsible for leading global efforts against communicable disease such as Ebola and Bird flu.

(Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Chinese President Xi Jinping and First Lady of China Peng Liyuan)

3. Peng Liyuan (68th)

Peng Liyuan, wife of Chinese president Xi Jinping, took out the #68 spot. China’s first lady is a famous singer, has been listed for her contribution in politics. Magazine noted Peng’s contribution to rural education and campaigns against tuberculosis without mentioning any specific political contribution.

4. Zhang Xin (69th)

The 69th spot on the list was taken by billionaire developer Zhang Xin, who is the co-founder and CEO of SOHO China, the country’s largest prime office real-estate developer.

5. Solina Chau (Hong Kong) (#78)

Hong Kong businesswoman Solina Chau, who made the cut at #78. Chau is a business partner in the Cheung Kong Group, and director of the Li Ka Shing Foundation.

6. Yao Chen (#82)

Chinese celebrity and queen of microblogging, Yao Chen claimed the 82nd position. Yao’s cult following of 78 million Weibo users is the largest in China and is even more than the number of Beliebers on Twitter. In 2013, Yao became China’s first UNHCR goodwill ambassador.

Yaoao is regarded as China’s Angelina Jolie for espousing several causes ranging from smog problem to censorship among her fans.

Here is the top 10 list of those women who are considered as the most powerful in the world:

1. Angela Merkel (German chancellor)
2. Hillary Clinton (US Politician, wife of Bill Clinton and Presidential hopeful for 2016
3. Melinda Gates (wife of Bill Gates and philanthropist)
4. Janet Yellen (Federal Reserve Chair)
5. Mary Barra (GM CEO)
3. Christine Lagarde (IMF Chief)
7. Dilma Rousseff (Brazilian President)
8. Sheryl Sandberg (Facebook COO)
9. Susan Wojcicki (YouTube CEO)
10. Michelle Obama (wife of Barrack Obama)
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As of January 2015, 10 women served as heads of state and 14 as heads of government. Women currently hold 23 (4.6 percent) of CEO positions at S&P 500 companies. Of a total 1,826 global billionaires, 197 are women – 11 percent of the total.