Li Jinyuan (businessman)
Li Jinyuan | |
---|---|
Born | Chinese: 李金元 1958 |
Nationality | Chinese |
Alma mater | Nankai University |
Occupation | Founder, Chairman and CEO, Tiens Group |
Board member of | Tiens Group |
Li Jinyuan (Chinese: 李金元; born 1958) is a Chinese businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He is the founder, chief executive, and chairman of Tiens Group, a direct seller of healthcare products. He was featured on Forbes' 2011 list of the world's billionaires as the 24th richest person in China at that time.[2]
Early life and education[]
Li Jinyuan was born in Cangzhou, Hebei Province, in 1958.[3] He dropped out of school at the age of 14 and worked in an oilfield for two years before starting in business on his own account.[4] He has an MBA from Nankai University.[3]
Career[]
Li founded Tiens Group, a direct seller of healthcare products, in Tianjin in 1995.[3] It was reported in 2015 that the company had 12,000 employees.[5] He is now chairman and chief executive.[6]
In 2011, Forbes magazine estimated his wealth at $1.2B US,[3] making him the 24th richest person in China at that time.[5]
He received press attention in 2015 when he took 6,400 of his employees on holiday to France at a cost of £24m.[5] Li was pictured greeting his employees at the opening parade standing in a United States Army jeep.[7] The event required the booking of 140 hotels in Paris, and 7,600 tickets on France's high-speed TGV trains to transport his staff to the French coast where over 4,000 rooms were required in hotels in Monaco and Cannes.[5] The visit was described by the International Business Times as an "expensive gesture" that demonstrated the "growing economic power of China".[8]
Philanthropy[]
According to Forbes, Li has created a Tiens Beijing International Charitable Foundation with an endowment of approximately $100 million and also provided $100 million to start a private school in Tianjin known as the Tianshi College which in 2011 enrolled over 3,000 students.[3]
The Economic Times reported in 2016 that Li had "contributed generously to flood and tsunami-relief efforts and the fight against the SARS virus".[4]
References[]
- ^ Chinese boss takes 6,400 employees on holiday in France: 7 reasons this is the ultimate package tour Straits Times
- ^ "The world's billionaires 2011". Forbes. 2011.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Li Jinyuan. Forbes. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Meet five billion dollar titans of China apart from Alibaba's Jack Ma. The Economic Times, 24 May 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d Li Jinyuan: Chinese billionaire takes 6,400 Tiens Group staff on holiday at cost of £24m. Ben Tufft. The Independent, 10 May 2015. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
- ^ Li Jinyuan. Bloomberg. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
- ^ The ultimate package holiday: Chinese billionaire takes 6,400 staff to France. Nicola Davison, The Telegraph, 10 May 2015. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
- ^ Chinese billionaire Li Jinyuan takes 6,400 staff on holiday to France. Mark Piggott, International Business Times, 9 May 2015. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
- 1958 births
- Living people
- Businesspeople from Hebei
- Chinese billionaires
- Chinese company founders
- Chinese philanthropists
- Nankai University alumni
- People from Cangzhou