Ding Lei

Ding Lei (Chinese: 丁磊; pinyin: Dīng Lěi; born 1 October 1971), also known as William Ding, is a Chinese billionaire businessman, and the founder and CEO of NetEase (163.com).

For the automotive entrepreneur and politician, see Ding Lei (businessman, born 1963).

In this Chinese name, the family name is Ding.
William Ding
丁磊
Born
Ding Lei

(1971-10-01) 1 October 1971
Ningbo, Zhejiang, China
EducationUESTC
Occupation(s)Founder and CEO of NetEase
Spouse
Wang Xunfang
​
(m. 2006)​
Children3

Ding made significant contributions to the development of computer networks in mainland China. In late 2016, Ding was looking into investing in the property sector, and travelled to Zimbabwe in December, and to the United Kingdom.[1][2] As of April 2021, Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimated Ding's fortune to be $35.8 billion.[3]

Early life

Ding Lei was born in Fenghua, Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, China. He graduated from Chengdu Institute of Radio Engineering (now University of Electronic Science and Technology of China) and obtained a bachelor's degree.

Career

After graduation he first worked in a local state department in Ningbo as an engineer, and then he went to Guangzhou and worked for Sybase there. He founded NetEase and became the richest individual in Chinese mainland in the year of 2003 (7.6 billion yuan), becoming the country's first internet and first gaming billionaire. According to the Hurun Report 2013, his net worth is estimated to be $5.2 billion.[2][4]

In 2012, it was confirmed that Ding branched NetEase's activities out into pork production.[5] The pig farm is centered around technology and environmental sustainability, and is not meant to become a major arm of the company.[6]

In May 2017, venture capital firm Sinovation Ventures, US-based Meituan-Dianping, and Alibaba competitor JD invested a total of US$23 million into the farm.[6]

In June 2020, Ding purchased a 16,000-square-foot Bel Air, Los Angeles, mansion for US$29 million from the Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk.[7]

References
  1. "Chinese billonaire expected in Byo". The Chronicle. 15 December 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  2. "鮭非為源". Hurun.net. Archived from the original on 31 December 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  3. "Bloomberg Billionaires Index: William Ding". Bloomberg. 3 July 2021.
  4. "William Lei Ding". Forbes. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  5. "Netease Expanding into the Pork Business…Wait, What?". Tech in Asia. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  6. "In China, a pig farm just got tens of millions of bucks in VC funding". Tech in Asia.
  7. "One down, six to go: Elon Musk sells Bel Air mansion for $29M". The Real Deal Los Angeles. 19 June 2020.
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