Poor background
Duong Le Quyen (1978) came from a poor family in Gian Duong (Sichuan, China). Le Quyen's parents were both farmers. Although the family was poor, their life was happy. As the youngest in the family, Le Quyen was spoiled by her father and older brother.
The incident happened to Le Quyen's family in 1991, because her two brothers' business failed and they were in debt. Every day, people came to collect debts, and valuable items in the house were taken away by creditors. The Duong family's life suddenly fell into extreme poverty.
Le Quyen's dream of going to university was completely shattered. At the age of 13, after passing the primary school graduation exam, she decided to leave school in tears. To help her family financially, at the age of 16, Le Quyen went to work as a waitress in a restaurant in Gian Duong.
Being a fluent, enthusiastic and quick-witted person, Le Quyen was praised by customers and highly appreciated by her boss. At that time, Le Quyen's salary was 120 NDT/month (410,000 VND), while the average salary of a waiter was about 80 NDT/month (273,000 VND). "At that time, I thought that whatever I did, I had to be diligent and dedicated even though I didn't know what the future would be like," Le Quyen shared.
By chance, Mr. Truong Dung (currently the Chairman of Haidilao) came to the restaurant to have a meal and was impressed with Le Quyen's service. At that time, Mr. Dung offered a monthly salary of 160 NDT/month (546,000 VND) to invite Le Quyen to work. However, Le Quyen refused and said that the current boss treated her well. Before leaving, Mr. Dung did not forget to say: "If you want to quit here, come work at my place."
In August 1995, the owner moved the store to Guangdong (China) and planned to take Le Quyen with him. However, Le Quyen was only 17 years old so her family did not agree to let her go far away. In the end, Le Quyen had to quit her job.
At this time, Le Quyen was looking for a job and remembered Mr. Dung. After contacting him, Mr. Dung hired Le Quyen to work at Haidilao. Here, Le Quyen continued to work as a waitress. Le Quyen met the job requirements and attracted many returning customers because of her good service attitude.
After working at Haidilao for about half a year, one day, Le Quyen’s mother came to the store crying because the family was being pressured into debt again. Le Quyen’s mother was helpless and had no other choice but to look for her daughter in the hope of getting 800 NDT (2.7 million VND) to pay off the debt.
Le Quyen was in a difficult situation, sending her monthly salary to her family to pay off the debt. When he found out, Mr. Dung gave Le Quyen's mother 800 NDT (2.7 million VND) to pay off the debt. He said he would not deduct this amount from her monthly salary, and would pay her back whenever she had the money.
After several years working at Haidilao, Le Quyen was appointed as store manager. Her financial situation changed significantly, and she was able to pay off all her debts to her boss. Although she was a capable manager, hardworking and always trying her best, there were times when Le Quyen could not stand the pressure. When she could not meet the revenue requirements, Le Quyen called to resign. At this time, Mr. Dung comforted the employee to continue working.
Become a billionaire at 40
Thanks to her efforts and the trust of Mr. Truong Dung, in 1998, Le Quyen was appointed to the position of manager of the second store in Xi'an (Shaanxi, China). However, due to violating regulations, her business license was revoked. After that, Le Quyen went to the local government to share the difficulties of the store and got her business license back.
In 2008, at the age of 30, Le Quyen was promoted to Deputy Director of Haidilao to assist Mr. Truong Dung in managing and operating human resources. 2 years later, Mr. Dung founded Sichuan Haidilao Catering Service Co., Ltd.
In 2012, at the age of 34, Le Quyen became the sole CEO holding shares in the company. Le Quyen is in charge of operating all Haidilao stores. Under Le Quyen's leadership, Haidilao began expanding overseas, leading the way in opening stores in Singapore and the United States in 2013.
In 2018, Le Quyen turned 40 and opened a glorious moment in her career. In September 2018, Haidilao Group was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. This meant that Mr. Dung and his wife's net worth increased to 50 billion yuan (170,943 billion VND) and Le Quyen became the sole CEO holding 3.68% of shares worth about 3.9 billion yuan (13,332 billion VND).
To date, Haidilao's Chairman owns assets of 112 billion yuan (382,893 billion VND). As Mr. Dung's right-hand man, Le Quyen also owns assets of 12.5 billion yuan (42,733 billion VND) and is on the list of richest female billionaires in China published annually by the Hurun Research Institute.
Currently, Le Quyen is the CEO of the Haidilao hotpot restaurant chain. Le Quyen's startup story inspires young people in China. From a 16-year-old rural girl who only finished primary school and worked as a waitress, after 30 years, she became a billionaire with assets of 12.5 billion NDT (42,733 billion VND).
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