Colin Huang

Colin Huang or Huang Zheng (Chinese: 黄峥; pinyin: Huáng Zhēng, born January 1, 1980) is a Chinese businessman, investor, and philanthropist.[2][3][4] He is the founder and former CEO of the e-commerce company Pinduoduo, which is now the largest agriculture platform in China.[5] Huang is also the owner of at least three other limited liability Cayman companies, including Pinduoduo.[6][7][8]

Colin Huang
Born
Huang Zheng

(1980-01-01) January 1, 1980[1]
Zhejiang, China
EducationZhejiang University
University of Wisconsin
Occupation(s)Businessman, investor, philanthropist, software engineer
Known forEstablishing Google China
TitleChairman and Former CEO of Pinduoduo

Early life and education

Huang was born in 1980 in the outskirts of Hangzhou, Zhejiang.[9][10] His parents were middle-class factory workers.[9][10] He attended Hangzhou Foreign Language School.

At the age of 18, Huang began studying computer science at Chu Kuchen Honors College of Zhejiang University.[11] During his freshman year, he was selected as a fellow at the Melton Foundation.[12] Huang graduated with a master's degree in computer science from the University of Wisconsin in 2004.[13]

Business career

Early career

Huang interned at Google and Microsoft.[14][13][15] He became an engineer with Google in 2004.[14] In 2006, he returned to China with Kaai-fu Lee to expand Google services in China.

After resigning from Google in 2007, Huang started the e-commerce site Oku. He sold it for $2.2m in 2010.[7] In October, he ranked seventh on the 2019 Huron Report.[16] In March, he ranked second in the 2020 Huron Global Young Zhuang Sect Self-Made Rich List.[17] In November, he was named to the 2021 Forbes Rich List of Mainland China, ranking sixth with a wealth of ¥213.2 billion.[18]

Pinduoduo IPO

Huang founded and led the Shanghai-based company Pinduoduo in 2015.[19][20] Pinduoduo had a revenue of 1.4 billion yuan ($280 million) in 2017. In 2019, the company generated a revenue of $4.33 billion US dollars (30.14 billion RMB). The company became publicly traded following an initial public offering in the United States in July 2018, raising $1.6 billion in investment backing capital.[21] After the public offering was floated on NASDAQ, Huang's 47% stake in Pinduoduo was valued at $14 billion, making him the thirteenth richest person in China.[22][13][23]

On July 1, 2020, Huang stepped down as CEO of Pinduoduo but retained his titular position as the company's chairman.[24][25] On March 17, 2021, Huang stepped down as chairman and entrusted the voting rights of his shares to the Board.[26] The company said Huang will pursue "new, long-term opportunities."[27][28][29]

Philanthropy

By June 2020, Huang reduced his Pinduoduo stake to 29.4% by donating 2.37% to a charitable foundation and 7.74% to the Pinduoduo Partnership.[30][31] He also donated 2.37% to an irrevocable charity to promote social responsibility development and scientific research. Huang was named the leading philanthropist on the Hurun China Philanthropy List in 2021 after pledging US$1.85 billion for social responsibility projects and scientific research.[3][32]

According to Bloomberg, Huang and the Pinduoduo founding team have donated 100 million (2.37% of Pinduoduo shares) to the Starry Night Charitable Trust to "support fundamental research in biomedical science, agriculture, and food."[33][34]

See also

Notes
  1. In this Chinese name, the family name is Huang.

References
  1. Cannon, Christopher. "Colin Huang - Biography". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  2. McMorrow, Ryan (2020-12-23). "Colin Huang, Shanghai's secretive internet king". Financial Times. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  3. Choi, Martin (11 May 2021). "Pinduoduo's founder is China's top donor with US$1.85 billion in charity". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  4. LAU, YVONNE. "China's Big Tech billionaires up philanthropic giving as Beijing cracks down". Fortune. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  5. "PDD Stock - Pinduoduo Inc. SEC Filings". sec.report.
  6. "Pinduoduo Inc. Acquisition Statement SC 13D". SEC.report.
  7. "Colin Huang, Shanghai's secretive internet king". The Financial Times.
  8. "Pinduoduo - Together, More Savings, More Fun". m.pinduoduo.com. Retrieved 2022-11-25.
  9. Liang, Lu-Hai. "Meet Colin Huang, who just stepped down as CEO of $100 billion Pinduoduo and whose wealth exploded by $25 billion in 2020". Business Insider. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  10. De Wei, Low (16 April 2021). "The bumpy road of Pinduoduo and its founder Colin Huang". KrASIA. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  11. JUAN, CHEN. "Young Talents in Shanghai -- Impressions of Pinduoduo Founder Colin Huang". www.yicaiglobal.com. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  12. Huang, Zheping (6 August 2018). "How Pinduoduo founder became China's youngest self-made billionaire". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  13. "A Former Google Employee Just Became One of China's Richest People". fortune.com. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  14. "How the pandemic boosted the net worth of China's fastest-rising billionaire". Fortune. Retrieved 2020-06-24.
  15. "Colin Zheng Huang". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-01-23.
  16. "2019胡润百富榜公布 马云家族第三次夺冠(搜索版)". finance.sina.com.cn. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
  17. "Hurun Report - Info - Hurun Global 40 & Under Self-Made Billionaires 2020". www.hurun.net. Retrieved 2022-01-23.
  18. "China's Richest 2021". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-01-23.
  19. "The bumpy road of Pinduoduo and its founder Colin Huang". KrASIA. 2021-04-16. Retrieved 2022-01-23.
  20. Moss, Trefor (2021-03-20). "How Pinduoduo Beat Alibaba to Become China's Top Shopping Site". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  21. "Colin Zheng Huang". Forbes. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  22. Fang, Alex. "IPO Of Chinese E-Commerce Firm Pinduoduo Mints New Young Billionaire". forbes.com. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  23. Pinduoduo opens on the Nasdaq, retrieved 2022-01-23
  24. "Pinduoduo founder steps down as chief and reduces personal stake". Financial Times. July 2020. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
  25. "Meet Colin Huang, the billionaire who founded, and just quit, Pinduoduo". South China Morning Post. 2021-04-21. Retrieved 2022-01-23.
  26. Shead, Sam (17 March 2021). "Pinduoduo founder Colin Huang steps down as chairman". CNBC. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  27. "Chinese tycoon abruptly quits tech giant he founded". finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2021-03-18.
  28. "China's third-richest man relinquishes control of its fastest-growing e-commerce giant". Fortune. Retrieved 2022-01-23.
  29. Zhai, Keith (2021-03-17). "Pinduoduo Founder Colin Huang Steps Down From Company". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  30. Keatinge, Colin. "Pinduoduo Founder Foundation Donates $100 Million to Alma Mater". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  31. Feng, Venus; Jin, Berber; Schmidt, Blake; Huang, Zheping (2 July 2020). "His Wealth Surged By 25 Billion Then Jack Ma's Rival Quit". Bloomberg. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  32. "Hurun Report - Info - Hurun China Philanthropy List 2021". www.hurun.net. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  33. Keatinge, Colin. "Pinduoduo Founder Foundation Donates $100 Million to Alma Mater". www.msn.com. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  34. "Letter to Pinduoduo staff: Another baby step of Pinduoduo | Pinduoduo Inc". investor.pinduoduo.com. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  • The letter to the shareholders at Pinduoduo
  • Colin Huang on Wechat
  • Colin Huang on Forbes
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