Zhenhua Yao & family

Yao Zhenhua was barely known before an insurer he controls started to buy shares in property developer China Vanke, where he holds a 25% stake.

Regulators unhappy with trading by Yao's insurer Foresea Life in 2017 barred him from holding a position in the industry for a decade.

Yao founded Baoneng Group in 1992 as a retailing business; today it has more than 40 shopping malls around China and is involved in healthcare.