Hailed as China's most reputed high-end real estate developer, Hsu Jung-mao's Shimao Group is perhaps the most profitable real estate company in China; in 2005 alone it reported profits of 2.5 billion yuan. At the same time that he was achieving success domestically, Hsu began investing in foreign real estate projects in places like Russia. In the 1970s, Hsu made his first fortune in Hong Kong and began engaging in real estate in 1989. Around the year 2000, just as Beijing's real estate market was booming, Hsu suddenly decided to fight the battle in Shanghai instead, successfully riding the fast train of Shanghai's skyrocketing property prices. The rapid growth of Shimao makes Hsu's strategic vision worthy of admiration. Fundamentally, Hsu is a financier. He has always been low-key, and it wasn't until 2001 when he ranked fifth on the Forbes list of mainland Chinese billionaires that he truly became well-known. Since then, Hsu has been named to the list every year.