Chinese gold jeweler Zhou Liu Fu’s chairman joins billionaire ranks as stock surges after IPO

His wealth was estimated based on his 57% stake in the firm, held through wholly-owned investment vehicles, according to Forbes.

Li, 47, reached billionaire status a day after the company’s initial public offering on the Hong Kong stock exchange last Thursday, which raised HK$1.3 billion (US$164.6 million).

Founded in 2004 by Li’s older brother Weipeng and a friend, Zhou Liu Fu had 4,129 stores as of the end of last year, 98% of which were franchised. Four of those are franchised stores outside of China, according to Hong Kong newspaper The Standard.

Weipeng, who serves as vice chairman, owns 24% of the company, giving him a net worth of $522 million.

The firm was the fifth largest Chinese jewelry brand by number of outlets in 2024 and plans to launch 12 self-operated stores this year, followed by another 28 in the next two.

It reported a net profit of 706.3 million yuan (US$98.5 million) on a 5.7 billion yuan revenue last year, up 7% and 11%, respectively, despite a slowdown in consumption in China.

The company has recently been accused of trademark infringement by several established Hong Kong jewelers, including Lukfook and billionaire Henry Cheng’s Chow Tai Fook. It has often drawn comparisons to those brands due to its name. "Zhou" is the Mandarin spelling of "Chow" and "Liu Fu" is the Mandarin equivalent of "Luk Fook."

Before going public in Hong Kong, Zhou Liu Fu applied to list in Shenzhen twice, in 2019 and 2022, but withdrew by 2023, according to Bloomberg.