Meet Zhou Qunfei: former factory worker, high school dropout and now, with a net worth of over US$8 billion , the richest self-made woman on the planet, according to Forbes.

Zhou is a Chinese entrepreneur who founded Lens Technology, which produces and sells glass screens and covers for companies like Apple and Samsung.

Zhou, 47, is the youngest self-made female billionaire on Forbes’ list and her humble beginnings make her trajectory that much more impressive. She grew up in a small village in central China.

Her mother died when she was five and her father became partially blinded and lost a finger in an industrial accident, according to The New York Times. As a child, she began raising pigs and ducks to bring in additional food and money for the family.

At age 16, the future entrepreneur was forced to leave high school to provide for her family. She soon scored a job at a factory making watch lenses for about US$1 a day.

At age 22, she struck out on her own. With only US$3,000 in her pocket, Zhou and a few relatives started a workshop, making watch lenses for customers.

She lived and worked in a small apartment with her siblings, their partners and two cousins. Though the company was steadily growing, it wasn’t until she made the career-changing decision to begin making glass screens for mobile phones that her business took off.

Motorola was the first to reach out in 2003, followed by other mobile-phone companies. HTC, Nokia, Samsung and finally Apple in 2007 were all requesting touch screens, culminating in her current billion-dollar empire.

In her interview with the Times, Zhou reflects on how far she’s come. In the area she grew up in, girls like her didn’t have the luxury of going to middle school, she says. Their only option was to get engaged or married and spend their whole life in the village. Zhou refused to take that route."I chose to be in business," she says, "and I don’t regret it."