A female paper recycling entrepreneur worth an estimated $3.4 billion (€2.7 billion) has topped the latest list of mainland China's richest people, marking the first time a woman has been ranked as the wealthiest person.

Zhang Yin "pole-vaulted" to the number one spot when Nine Dragons Paper, her company, was listed in Hong Kong in March, according to Hurun Report, which ranks the country's richest individuals.

Huang Guangyu, founder of electronics retailer Gome, is ranked second with $2.5 billion.

The findings show that China's billionaires club is growing fast, hitting 15 this year, and that a few female executives are beginning to join the ranks of the prosperous and powerful.

"China's entrepreneurs are all first generation," said Rupert Hoogewerf, who organised the list, which competes with Forbes magazine ranking. "The stories of these individuals tell the story of modern China."

Chinese rich lists have at times been questioned for their accuracy or even labelled "hit lists" because some entrepreneurs have previously been targeted for corruption or tax evasion.

But there have been fewer high-profile arrests in the past couple of years.

It is becoming harder to make Hurun's list - to qualify for the top 500 list today a person must be worth at least $100 million, compared with a cut-off of $6 million for a top 50 listing eight years ago.

Ms Zhang became extremely wealthy in a short period. Hurun said she was the world's richest self-made woman, surpassing US talkshow host Oprah Winfrey and JK Rowling, the Harry Potter author.

Ms Zhang's listed company, of which she owns 72 per cent, buys scrap paper from the US and then processes it in China for sale. On last year's list, the 49-year-old was ranked 36th. Several Chinese women had gained a higher profile in recent months.