Wu Yajun no longer China’s richest woman after divorce

Divorce can be expensive for the rich. For the chairwoman of Longfor Properties Co., Wu Yajun, it means she is no longer the richest woman in China, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday .

Wu had to pay 40 per cent of Longfor’s shares to her ex-husband Cai Kui, who co-founded the company with her in 1994.

Wu’s net worth dropped to US$4.2 billion from US$7.3 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Now the richest woman in China is Yang Huiyan, an executive director of Country Garden Holdings Co. She has a net worth of US$5 billion, the index shows.

The couple's divorce has became a hot topic on China's twitter-like service, Sina Weibo. 

"Wu's new chance to pursue happiness matters more than her financial loss," said a sina Weibo user. 

"Did her husband meet someone in his EMBA class?" said another Weibo user. 

Wang Shi, a 61-year-old China real estate tycoon, has recently divorced his wife and now in a relationship with 31-year-old actress Tian Pujun after meeting her in an executive MBA class, accoding to Chinese newspaper reports.