China's richest woman passes away at 85, leaves behind husband, 73, who acted as 'Tang Sanzang'

Chen Lihua, who became China's richest woman in 2016, has passed away at 85.

She leaves behind her 73-year-old husband, Chi Zhongrui, three children from a previous marriage, and an adopted daughter.

Chen and Chi got married 36 years ago, with the two sharing a deep love of Peking Opera.

Chen had an estimated net worth of 50.5 billion yuan (S$9.44 billion) in 2016.

According to Lianhe Zaobao, she had a fortune of about 47 billion yuan (S$8.8 billion) at the time of her passing.

Early perception

Chi gave up his acting career and married Chen in 1990.

Due to their 11-year age gap, Chi was initially ridiculed by the press and audience.

Referencing his previous turn as the monk in "Journey to the West", some said he was "Tang Sanzang going on a pilgrimage to obtain gold instead of scriptures".

However, Zaobao reported that he was unaffected by the comments.

According to Zaobao, Chen is rumoured to have made a will in 2021, leaving approximately 10 billion yuan (S$1.87 billion) to her four children.

They said this means Chi could receive at least 7 billion yuan (S$1.31 billiom)

Chinese media reported that Chi broke down at the funeral while paying his last respects.

Image from Sohu