The richest self-made woman in the world is a former journalist. Wu graduated from the Department of Navigation Engineering of the Northwestern Polytechnical University in 1984, and from 1988 to 1993 worked as a journalist and editor with the China Shirong News Agency. Shares in Wu’s Hong Kong-listed real estate developer Longfor Properties rose by a quarter from a year earlier, and contract sales for 2010 soared 81% from a year earlier to $5 billion. From its roots in Chongqing in central China, Longfor has been expanding in relatively profitable markets in first-tier cites. Longfor listed its shares in Hong Kong Nov. 2009. Wu shares her fortune with her husband, who also holds a stake in the company.