SF Express founder Wang Wei reaches $15.6 billion net worth

Wang Wei, the founder and chairman of SF Express, has reached an estimated net worth of $15.6 billion, according to Forbes. Often referred to as the ‘FedEx of China,’ SF Express operates a massive logistics network including private cargo planes, tens of thousands of trucks, and hundreds of thousands of employees.

Wang’s rise to wealth follows a difficult early life. After moving from Shanghai to Hong Kong, his family faced financial hardship. He left school after high school to work various manual labor jobs, including roles as a painter, dyer, and textile worker in Guangdong.

In 1993, Wang borrowed $13,000 from his father to start a delivery business with six colleagues. At the time, China’s postal industry was a state monopoly, and private delivery services were considered illegal, forcing early operations to function covertly as they moved goods across borders.