Ex-China factory worker becomes budget store billionaire

Guangdong, China-based Miniso Group Holding Ltd. banked $608 million from an initial public offering in New York Thursday, making founder and Chief Executive Officer Ye Guofu’s stake of about 65% -- held with his wife -- worth more than $4 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

A CHINESE entrepreneur who started a chain of stores selling sleek household items at bargain-basement prices has just become a billionaire, benefiting from the global trend of consumers turning to cheap goods as the coronavirus pandemic eats into spending budgets.

Guangdong, China-based Miniso Group Holding Ltd. banked $608 million from an initial public offering in New York Thursday, making founder and Chief Executive Officer Ye Guofu’s stake of about 65% -- held with his wife -- worth more than $4 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.