Liu Chuanzhi, 69, founder of China's leading computer maker Lenovo Group, at his office in Beijing on November 12, 2013 (JIN LIANGKUAI)

Liu Chuanzhi left a reserach institution and created Lenovo in 1984 along with 10 other Beijing engineers and 200,000 yuan ($29,412). "I had no other options left. Although I was 40 when I started my own business, it was still the right time for me to do something," Liu said.

Under his leadership, Lenovo, which was originally known as Legend, rose from a small start-up to become the leading PC producer in China, and a thriving global company. In 2005, Lenovo acquired IBM's Personal Computing Division. It is the fourth largest PC manufacturer worldwide with a total income of $16 billion in 2009.