Colin Huang

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Colin Huang
Born
Huang Zheng

(1980-01-01) January 1, 1980 (age 41)[1]
NationalityChinese
EducationZhejiang University
University of Wisconsin
OccupationBusinessman
Known forpart of the team that set up Google China
TitleFounder, Pinduoduo
SuccessorLei Chen

Colin Huang or Huang Zheng (Chinese: 黄峥; pinyin: Huáng Zhēng, born January 1, 1980) is a Chinese billionaire businessman and philanthropist.[3][4] He is the founder and former CEO of e-commerce company Pinduoduo, which went on to become the largest agriculture platform in China.[5] Huang is also the owner of at least three other limited liability Cayman companies each owning a 7.7% stake in Pinduoduo.[6][7]

Early life[]

Huang was born in 1980 to a middle class factory worker parents on the outskirts of Hangzhou, a city in China's eastern province of Zhejiang.[8] Huang attended secondary school at Hangzhou Foreign Language School.

Education[]

At the age of 18, Huang began studying computer science at Chu Kochen Honors College of Zhejiang University.[9] In his freshman year, he was selected as a fellow at the Melton Foundation, established by VeriFone founder Bill Melton.[10] Huang graduated with a master's degree in computer science from the University of Wisconsin in 2004.[11]

Career[]

Huang joined Google as an intern, and then started working as an engineer in 2004.[12] He also interned at Microsoft.[11]

After resigning from Google in 2007, Huang started ecommerce site Ouku. He sold it for $2.2m in 2010.[7]

Following the July 2018 initial public offering of Pinduoduo on NASDAQ, Huang's 47% stake was valued at $14 billion, making him the 13th richest person in China.[13][11]

As of July 2, 2020, it is reported that from a June 30 filing that Colin Huang has reduced his PDD stake down to 29.4% from 43.3% as he donated 2.37% to the charitable foundation and 7.74% to the Pinduoduo Partnership.[14][15] Huang donated 2.37% to the irrevocable charity with the aim of promoting social responsibility development and scientific research. On July 1, 2020, Huang stepped down as CEO but continued as the Chairman.[16]

Huang was named the leading philanthropist on the Hurun Philanthropy List 2021 after pledging billions for social responsibility projects and scientific research.[3][17]

On March 17, 2021, Huang stepped down as chairman and entrusted the voting rights of his shares to the Board.[18] The company said in a statement that he will pursue "new, long-term opportunities".[19]

Pinduoduo[]

The Shanghai-based company Pinduoduo, also known as PDD, was founded in 2015 and reported revenue of 1.4 billion yuan ($280 million) in 2017. In 2019, its revenue was $4.33 billion US dollars (30.14 billion RMB).[20] It became publicly traded following an initial public offering in the United States in July 2018, raising $1.6 billion.[21]

According to Bloomberg, Huang and the Pinduoduo founding team has donated 100 million (2.37% of Pinduoduo shares)[22] to the Starry Night Charitable Trust to "support fundamental research in biomedical science, agriculture and food".[23]

References[]

  1. ^ Cannon, Christopher. "Colin Huang - Biography". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  2. ^ "Bloomberg Billionaires Index: Colin Zheng Huang". Bloomberg. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  3. ^ a b 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. ^ a b "Colin Huang, Shanghai's secretive internet king". The Financial Times.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ JUAN, CHEN. "Young Talents in Shanghai -- Impressions of Pinduoduo Founder Colin Huang". www.yicaiglobal.com. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  10. ^ Huang, Zheping (6 August 2018). "How Pinduoduo founder became China's youngest self-made billionaire". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  11. ^ a b c "A Former Google Employee Just Became One of China's Richest People". fortune.com. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  12. ^ "How the pandemic boosted the net worth of China's fastest-rising billionaire". Fortune. Retrieved 2020-06-24.
  13. ^ Fang, Alex. "IPO Of Chinese E-Commerce Firm Pinduoduo Mints New Young Billionaire". forbes.com. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  14. ^ Keatinge, Colin. "Pinduoduo Founder Foundation Donates $100 Million to Alma Mater". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ "Pinduoduo founder steps down as chief and reduces personal stake". www.ft.com. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
  17. ^ "Hurun Report - Info - Hurun China Philanthropy List 2021". www.hurun.net. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  18. ^ Shead, Sam (17 March 2021). "Pinduoduo founder Colin Huang steps down as chairman". CNBC. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  19. ^ "Chinese tycoon abruptly quits tech giant he founded". finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2021-03-18.
  20. ^ Sun, Leo (12 March 2020). "Pinduoduo's Growth Decelerates Again as It Burns More Cash". fool.com. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  21. ^ "Colin Zheng Huang". Forbes. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  22. ^ "Letter to Pinduoduo staff: Another baby step of Pinduoduo | Pinduoduo Inc". investor.pinduoduo.com. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  23. ^ Keatinge, Colin. "Pinduoduo Founder Foundation Donates $100 Million to Alma Mater". www.msn.com. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
Retrieved from ""