Ding Lei
Chinese billionaire businessman
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.2
From Wikipedia’s article on Ding Lei (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Born Oct 1, 1971.1
Net worth $14.7B (as of 2019, per The World's Billionaires).12 Richest people
About
He has made significant contributions to the development of computer networks in mainland China. In late 2016, he was looking into investing in the property sector, and travelled to Zimbabwe in December and to the United Kingdom. As of May 2025, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimated Ding's fortune to be $38.9 billion.
From Wikipedia’s article on Ding Lei, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2
Companies
Early life and education
- Date not recordedUniversity of Electronic Science and Technology of China3
Ding was born in Fenghua, Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, China. He graduated from the Chengdu Institute of Radio Engineering (now the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China) and obtained a bachelor's degree in telecommunications engineering.
From Wikipedia’s article on Ding Lei (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Career
Occupation: entrepreneur.7
- Since 1997Chief executive, NetEase5
- Date not recordedFounded NetEase4
- Date not recordedMember of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference6
After graduation, Ding worked as an engineer in a local state department in Ningbo, and worked for Sybase in Guangzhou. He founded NetEase and became the richest individual on the Chinese mainland in 2003 (7.6 billion yuan), becoming the country's first internet and gaming billionaire. According to the Hurun Report 2013, his net worth is estimated to be $5.2 billion.
In 2012, it was confirmed that Ding branched NetEase's activities out into pork production. The pig farm is centered around technology and environmental sustainability, and is not meant to become a major arm of the company.
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 firm.
In June 2020, Ding purchased a 16,000-square-foot mansion for US$29 million in Bel Air, Los Angeles, from Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk.
From Wikipedia’s article on Ding Lei (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Personal life
Net worth over time
Links
Sources
The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.
- 1WikidataDing Lei on Wikidata
- 2WikipediaDing Lei on Wikipedia
- 3WikidataDing Lei: education, on Wikidata
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- 10WikidataDing Lei: residence, on Wikidata
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- 14WikidataNetEase, Chief executive officer