Furniture maker Red Star Macalline chairman Che Jianxin grew up in a farm family in eastern China. Now one of China’s richest men, he has amassed wisdom that has compiled into an English-language book, Work Is Life, published earlier this year.
Che, 53, ranks No. 64 on this year’s list with an estimated net worth of $4.7 billion, up from $4.25 billion last year.
Che began his career as a carpenter in a city east of Nanjing, pursuing a trade over education because he felt it offered a better long-term future. He recalls early in his career being insulted by a building guard because he made affordable furniture. “Thanks to my obsession with work and stubborn persistence, I managed to become a very skilled idiot, and later, a hard-working idiot with a positive attitude,” he writes.
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