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 (163.com).
Ding made significant contributions to the development of computer networks in mainland China. In late 2016, Ding was looking into investing in the property sector, and travelled to Zimbabwe in December, and to the United Kingdom. As of April 2021, Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimated Ding’s fortune to be $35.8 billion.
The majority of Ding’s fortune is derived from his 45% stake in publicly traded NetEase, an online games operator. Its email system, NetEase Mail, is the largest email service provider in China, according to a May 2023 company presentation.
He owns the shares through British Virgin Islands-based Shining Globe International, according to the 2022 annual report.
The value of his cash investments is based on an analysis of dividends, taxes, market performance and charitable giving.
Ding declined to comment on his net worth.
Biography
Ding Lei was born in Fenghua, Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, China. He graduated from Chengdu Institute of Radio Engineering (now University of Electronic Science and Technology of China) and obtained a bachelor’s degree.
Ding developed an affinity for electronic gadgets while young and managed to assemble a six-tube radio when he was in middle school. He attended the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China in the city of Chengdu, where he studied computer science and got a bachelor’s degree in communication technology.
Upon graduation, he took a government job as a telecommunications engineer in his hometown of Ningbo and quit two years later. He headed south to Guangzhou, the capital city of Guangdong province, and started to work for US software solutions provider Sybase, which was acquired by SAP AG in 2010.
Ding founded NetEase in 1997 with two friends and about $60,000 in Guangzhou, offering China’s first free e-mail service. NetEase expanded its business to an online bulletin board, news services and internet-based games.
The company sold shares in an initial public offering in 2000. Ding shifted his business focus to sectors outside the Internet in 2011, including a business raising pigs that he started in an effort to allay fears about food safety in China.
Career
After graduation he first worked in a local state department in Ningbo as an engineer, and then he went to Guangzhou and worked for Sybase there. He founded NetEase and became the richest individual in Chinese mainland in the year of 2003 (7.6 billion yuan), becoming the country’s first internet and first 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 farm.
In June 2020, Ding purchased a 16,000-square-foot Bel Air, Los Angeles, mansion for US$29 million from the Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk.
Milestones
- 1971 William Lei Ding is born in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, in eastern China.
- 1997 Founds NetEase in southern Chinese city of Guangzhou.
- 2000 NetEase sells shares in an initial public offering.
- 2001 Steps down as chairman of NetEase and remains its largest shareholder.
- 2005 Ding returns as chief executive officer of NetEase.
- 2009 NetEase introduces World of Warcraft in China.
- 2011 Ventures into raising pigs.
- 2011 Starts offering StarCraft II to Chinese online game players
