Liu is the founder and chairman of Tongwei Group, an animal feed company and the world's largest producer of solar cells. The Ningbo, China-based group makes feed for fish, livestock and poultry, and its energy division produces photovoltaic cells and modules. It had revenue of 44.2 billion yuan ($6.4 billion) in 2020.
Liu Hanyuan's net worth of $12.2B can buy ...
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The majority of Liu's fortune is derived from his stake in Tongwei Group, an animal feed and solar cell company.
The Sichuan, China-based group is the world's largest manufacturer of crystalline silicon cells, according to its website.
Liu owns 43% of the company, according to the company's 2021 third-quarter report.
A spokesperson for Tongwei Group declined to comment on Liu's fortune.
Liu Hanyuan was born in Sichuan province in 1964. He later graduated from the Fisheries Vocational School in Sichuan. His first job was working at the Lianghekou Reservoir Fishery.
Liu invented a large metal cage for farming fish and then set up a fish feed factory in his hometown of Yongshou in 1986. By 2009, animal feed production hit 5 million tons, making Liu's company, Tongwei, the largest aquatic feed producer in the world. Tongwei became publicly traded in 2004.
Tongwei began investing in solar energy in 2002, acquiring a stake in a small solar firm. It would become the largest solar cell manufacturer in the world.