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The China list's rankings change sharply from year to year, reflecting the rapid evolution of the booming economy, which expanded by 11.9 percent in the most recent quarter. Yang, who graduated from Ohio State University, was one of 12 real estate developers among the top 40, Forbes said. All 40 were billionaires, up from only 15 last year, the magazine said. The combined net worth of the top 40 also rose sharply, from $38 billion in 2006 to $120 billion this year. Yang's father, Yeung Kwok-keung, also known as Yang Guoqiang, grew up in poverty in southern China's Guangdong province and worked as a bricklayer before becoming a developer in the early 1990s, according to Hong Kong news reports. Guangdong, which abuts Hong Kong, produced 13 billionaires, more than any other province, the magazine said. The booming province is the heart of China's export-driven light manufacturing industries. Last year's richest woman, Zhang Yin, founder of Nine Dragons Paper Co., fell from No. 5 to No. 11 on this year's list, though her net worth grew by 125 percent to $3.4 billion.

I think that China's booming real estate industry has helped produce its richest woman. And, overall speaking, China's economy is charging ahead so fast that stock market, real estate and export-driven manufacturing have fuels the wealth growth in China. It's amazing that the total fortune of China's top 40, wealthiest people have tripled that of last year.