Wang Chuanfu

Wang Chuanfu's BYD reigns as king of China's nascent electric vehicle market, which is the largest EV market in the world.

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway owns an 8% stake in BYD.

Born in a farm village in one of China's poorest provinces in 1966, Wang was orphaned as a teen and raised by his elder brother and sister.

The high achiever made it to college, excelling as he trained his sights on battery technology.

Wang cofounded BYD as a rechargeable battery company in the mid 1990s.