The majority of Renxian’s fortune is derived from his stake in Sungrow Power Supply, a solar inverter manufacturer. The Hefei, China-based company owns the world’s largest inverter factory, according to the company website. It is also the largest photovoltaic power station developer worldwide, according to its 2022 annual report.
He owns 31% of the company directly as well as through his wife Su Lei and a holding company, according to its 2023 first-quarter report and a June 9, 2023 filing. About 6% of his shares are pledged and removed from the calculation.
The value of his cash holdings is based on an analysis of stock dividends, insider transactions, taxes and market performance.
Lu Yang, a spokesperson for the company, didn’t respond to a request for comment on the net worth calculation.
Cao Renxian was born in July 1968. He became a professor at Hefei University of Technology in 1993 and taught at the school for about five years.
Upon learning of the poor availability of electricity in rural western China, he decided to set up Sungrow Power Supply Co. in 1997. His first customer was an engineer from the southern Xinjiang Railway, to whom he sold a solar power supply system for railway signalling equipment.He expanded the company internationally in 2006 and it joined the Shenzhen stock exchange in 2011. By 2019, Sungrow had built the world’s largest solar inverter factory.
Milestones- 1993 Becomes a teacher at Hefei University of Technology.1998 Southern Xinjiang railway becomes Renxian’s first client.2015 Sungrow attains the largest global market share for solar inverters.2018 Sungrow opens a factory in Bangalore, India, its first outside China.
Chairman, Sungrow Power Supply
- Cao Renxian chairs Sungrow Power Supply, a maker of solar PV inverters, wind power converters and power supplies.
- Cao taught at Hefei University of Technology from 1993 to1998 and founded Sungrow in 1997.
- Net worth: $6.3 billion
- The company listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2011.
