Chinese empire: how the mysterious owners of Shein made $40 billion

it took thirty years for American fashion designer Ralph Lauren, creator of the legendary Polo brand, to become a billionaire. Chris (Yang Tian) Xu, chief executive of Chinese clothing manufacturer Shein, has become the owner of one of the largest fortunes in the world in less than ten years.

Xu is ranked 54th in Bloomberg's billionaire rankings. His fortune is estimated at $23.5 billion.

The combined capital of all the founders of Shein - Xu, Miao Miao, Gu Xiaoqing and Ren Xiaoqing - is almost $40 billion.

Shein has been ranked as the top fashion brand in GOOGLE searches in 113 countries around the world. And the online price comparison service Money.co.uk named it "the top fashion brand of 2022".

Shein's designers are inspired by the tastes of Western teenagers, the company reacts almost instantly to changing trends, actively uses artificial intelligence and sells fashion products through ultra-fast supply chains. The company's website is visited up to 256 million times a month.

Shein is so successful thanks to the mysterious founders who created an extraordinary business model, although they did not have much experience in the fashion industry.