Who is Zhang Xin, Chinese self-made billionaire dubbed 'the woman who built Beijing'?

Her firm, SOHO China, which she started with her husband Pan Shiyi, boasts a portfolio that includes the Leeza Soho, Galaxy Soho and Wangjing Soho, as well as other striking towers that stand out against the skylines of Beijing and Shanghai.

She currently heads Closer Properties, a unit of her family office that owns properties worth more than US$5 billion across New York City and Boston.

Last week, the firm unveiled plans for a luxury condominium development in New York with a total site cost of US$76 million.

Zhang is recognized for collaborating with some of the world’s most renowned architects and, over the years, has become a role model for women, the ambitious poor and ordinary Chinese alike, with her inspiring rags-to-riches journey.

Chinese billionaire Zhang Xin. Photo from Zhang Xin's Instagram

Born in 1965, she spent her early years in Beijing, under modest circumstances with her single mother.

Zhang recalled that growing up, buildings in China were mostly grey and bland at the time.

"In spring time [we would] get [a] sandstorm and the whole sky would be all grey," she told CNBC in a 2017 interview.

At age 15, she moved with her family to Hong Kong, a bustling, brightly lit city that felt worlds apart from the subdued streets of the capital. There, she began working to earn money for the first time.

"We did not know what other way to live, than just finding whatever job was out there to make a living," she recounted.

She spent five years working in factories and earning extra income whenever possible until she saved enough for a flight to the U.K.

Her first days in the country were overwhelming, though she would eventually go on to complete her education there, first at the University of Sussex and later at Cambridge University.

"Not only I did not know anyone, I also [did not] speak the language. So for all my dream[s] of getting [an] education and to be away from [the] factory, I ended up on this, almost a new planet," she recounted.

"I remember the first night I got there, I sat on my suitcases and cried. Because I really felt scared."

But the decision proved to be the right call, as Zhang would reflect on years later while addressing graduates at her alma mater.

"If I look back at my life and ask myself what was the most important transformational element, I would say education," she said in the 2013 speech quoted by The Times.

"The point it all changed was when I decided to go to England to become a student."

Zhang then moved further west, where she began her career on Wall Street with jobs at Goldman Sachs and at Travelers, before returning to China in 1995, The Independent reported.

There, she met Pan and famously tied the knot just four days later. Together, they established SOHO and capitalized on China’s property boom to grow it into one of the country’s leading commercial developers, according to the South China Morning Post.

Zhang Xin (front) and her husband, Pan Shiyi. Photo from Zhang Xin's Instagram

Beijing today is much different from the "grey" city Zhang once remembered. The capital’s skyline now glows with light, colors and skyscrapers, shaped in part by SOHO.

Behind her success, Zhang recalled that the firm’s early days were anything but easy. The couple constantly wrestled with challenges such as securing land, finding financing, and convincing others to believe in their capabilities. At the time, they often relied on the hope that potential partners and factory owners would trust them to obtain funding in an environment where few had the means to buy land.

"Today, of course, it’s unthinkable that anyone can start any business that way," she said.

"But that’s how, back in the mid-90s, Chinese business started. By just telling people the vision and asking people to believe in the vision and start working on it."

Around 2014, the pair began selling off large parts of their Chinese portfolio and, by 2022, stepped down as chairman and CEO to devote more time to philanthropic causes.

Their attention has since shifted to the U.S. property market, where they are believed to spend most of their time. The two are often spotted at major sporting and social events there, according to a 2022 report by Bloomberg.

As of Oct. 25, Zhang boasts a net worth of $1.1 billion while Pan sits at $1.2 billion, as estimated by Forbes.