Eric Yuan

Yuan is the son of geological engineers.[8] He was born and raised in Tai'an, Shandong Province, China.[9][10] In 4th grade, Yuan collected construction scraps to recycle copper for cash.[9]

As a first-year university student in 1987, he was inspired to develop videotelephony software while he took 10-hour train rides to visit his girlfriend and was looking for an easier way to "visit" her.[11][10] He earned a bachelor's degree in applied mathematics with a minor in computer application from Shandong University of Science and Technology,[12] and a master's degree in geology engineering from China University of Mining and Technology in Beijing.[13][14] Yuan completed a Stanford University executive program in 2006.[9][15][16]

After earning his master's degree, Yuan lived in Beijing,[17] and attended a training program in Japan for four months.[14] Inspired by Bill Gates, who spoke in Japan in 1995, he moved to Silicon Valley in 1997 to join the tech boom.[11][18] At the time, Yuan spoke very little English, and applied nine times before being granted a visa to the United States.[10][19]

Upon arriving in the US, Yuan joined WebEx, a web conferencing startup, where he was one of the first 20 hires.[9][8] The company was acquired by Cisco Systems in 2007, at which time he became vice president of engineering.[10] In 2011, Yuan pitched a new smartphone-friendly video conferencing system to Cisco management.[20] When the idea was rejected, Yuan left Cisco to establish his own company, Zoom Video Communications.[10]

In 2019, Zoom became a public company via an initial public offering,[21] at which time Yuan became a billionaire.[9][2] His wealth has increased during COVID-19 pandemic, as Zoom benefited from the shift to online work and teaching.[22] On 1 September 2020, Yuan's net worth was estimated to be US$16.4 billion, a figure 360% higher than his net worth at the beginning of the year.[23] In March 2021, Yuan transferred $6 billion worth of Zoom shares to a grantor retained annuity trust, for which Yuan is a trustee.[24]

Yuan married his girlfriend Sherry at the age of 22, while he was a master's student at China University of Mining and Technology in Beijing.[9] They have three children. Yuan and his family live in Santa Clara, California.[2] In 2007, Yuan became a naturalized United States citizen.[25]

Yuan chose the middle name "S" after Subrah Iyar, cofounder of WebEx.[5]

Yuan was named the 2020 Time Businessperson of the Year,[26] and was included in the Time 100 Most Influential People of 2020.[27]