Given China’s wealth at the time, which accounted for 23 percent of global GDP, she has a good chance of being remembered as the richest woman in history; some estimates put her fortune at $16 trillion.

In its 5,000-year history, China has undoubtedly had its share of super-rich women, which the Post will highlight below.

Wu Zetian (624-705)

Wu is a fascinating figure not only as the only empress in Chinese history, but also because of the fascinating mystery surrounding her legacy.

Her political career began when she was an imperial concubine and eventually married Emperor Gaozong (r. 649-683) to become his imperial consort. After becoming part of Gaozong’s harem, she expelled and killed her rivals, Empress Wang and another favored consort.

By most accounts, she controlled China behind the scenes for 23 years during the reign of Emperor Gaozong. She assumed official power in 690, seven years after Gaozong’s death, by changing the name of China from Tang to Zhou. She was the official empress of China from 690 to 705.

The name Tang was restored when Wu’s son returned to the throne after his death in 705.

According to some reports, after a failed attempt to remove her from power in 684, she had twelve entire branches of the imperial family that had claims to the throne killed.

Wu was a determined leader who initiated territorial expansion into Central Asia and was involved in a series of wars on the Korean peninsula.

Wu had immense control over China’s wealth during her reign, which is why she is often considered the richest woman in history.

Soong Ai-ling (1889-1973)

Soong Ai-ling was the eldest sister of one of the most famous Chinese families of the 20th century. The middle sister, Ching-ling, married Sun Yat-sen and the youngest, Mei-ling, married Chiang Kai-shek.

Soong Ai-ling married HH Kung, who was the richest man in the Republic of China (1912-1949) at the time of their marriage. He eventually became Prime Minister of the Republic from 1938 to 1939.

After marrying Kung, Soong spent part of her life working as a teacher and involved in social welfare before founding the Sandai Company, which was enormously successful and made Soong fabulously wealthy.

During the war, the Soong sisters formed an organization called Indusco to protect Chinese business interests during the war. Ai-ling was the group’s most active manager. However, she was also accused of war profiteering during World War II.

Fu Hao (died around 1,200 BC)

Just as there was King Tutankhamun in ancient Egypt, there was Lady Fu Hao in China, the wife of an emperor from the Shang Dynasty (1600–1046 BC), whose tomb was filled with fabulous riches at the time of her death.

Like Wu Zetian, Fu gained enormous power in her role as king’s consort, which included conducting successful military campaigns and overseeing official human sacrifices.

Her relationship with sacrifice was highlighted by the fact that she was buried alongside 16 people who were sacrificed for her afterlife. Six dogs were also sacrificed at her funeral.

Her tomb contained 755 jade artifacts, 564 bone objects (such as hairpins), 468 bronze objects including vessels and weapons, 63 pieces of stone, 11 examples of pottery, 5 ivory carvings, and 6,900 cowrie shells used as currency during the Shang Dynasty.

In addition, numerous oracle bones were discovered in her tomb. These indicate that she owned large estates and was able to shower King Wu Ding with generous gifts. During his reign, she was often entrusted with conducting the most prestigious ceremonies.

Lady Fu is a crucial figure in understanding the Shang Dynasty, the oldest known historical period in China for which there is concrete evidence.