Chen Yidan (, born 1971), also known as Charles Chen, is a Chinese internet entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is a co-founder of

Tencent Tencent Holdings Ltd. ( zh, s=腾讯, p=Téngxùn) is a Chinese Multinational corporation, multinational technology Conglomerate (company), conglomerate and holding company headquartered in Shenzhen. It is one of the highest grossing multimed ...

, founder of the Chen Yidan Charity Foundation, and founder of the Yidan Prize Foundation.

Education

Chen Yidan was born in

Huizhou Huizhou ( zh, c= ) is a city in east-central Guangdong Province, China, forty-three miles north of Hong Kong. Huizhou borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the west, Shenzhen and Dongguan to the southwest, Shaoguan to the north, Hey ...

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

, and grew up in

Shenzhen Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A Special economic zones of China, special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong ...

, Guangdong. He obtained a bachelor's degree in applied

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

from Shenzhen University and a master's degree in

economic law Economic law is a set of legal rules for regulating economic activity.Ferdinand Joseph Maria Feldbrugge, Gerard Pieter van den Berg, William B. Simons (1985) "Encyclopedia of Soviet Law", '' BRILL'', O. S. (Olimpiad Solomonovich) Ioffe, Mark W. Ja ...

from

Nanjing University Nanjing University (NJU) is a public university in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. It is affiliated and sponsored by the Ministry of Education. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Construction. The univers ...

. He subsequently earned a Doctor of Business Administration from

Singapore Management University Singapore Management University (SMU) is a publicly funded private university in Singapore. Founded in 2000, SMU is the third oldest autonomous university in the country, modelling its education after the Wharton School. The university is trip ...

Tencent

In 1998, Chen Yidan co-founded the internet holding company

alongside

Ma Huateng Ma Huateng (, born October 29, 1971) is a Chinese businessman, investor and philanthropist who is the co-founder, chairperson and chief executive officer (CEO) of Tencent, one of the most valuable companies in East Asia, one of the largest int ...

Zhang Zhidong Zhang Zhidong ( zh, t=張之洞) (2 September 18374 October 1909) was a Chinese politician who lived during the late Qing dynasty. Along with Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzhang and Zuo Zongtang, Zhang Zhidong was one of the four most famous offici ...

, Xu Chenye, and Zeng Liqing. He served as the company's chief administrative officer (CAO). Yidan also led the company's Tencent Charity Foundation. In March 2013, Yidan stepped down as Tencent's CAO. He continued to be involved with the company as an advisor, sponsor, and honorary chairman of the Tencent Charity Foundation.

Philanthropy

In March 2013, Chen Yidan founded the Chen Yidan Charity Foundation after stepping down from his role as CAO of Tencent.

Wuhan College

In 2009, Yidan cofounded Wuhan College and became a school initiator. In 2015, Yidan donated RMB20 million to support the college's library construction and reading material purchases.

The Yidan Prize

In May 2016, Chen founded the Yidan Prize, funded by an independent trust of HK $2.5 billion (US$320 million). The award was established to recognize innovators and those who had made contributions to education. The Prize included two annual awards, the Yidan Prize for Education Development and the Yidan Prize for Education Research. Each prize included a cash award of HK $15 million as well as a project fund of HK $15 million.

Recognition

In 2015 Yidan was named to the China Philanthropy Institute's list of top Chinese philanthropists. In 2016, he appeared on the China Charity Ranking List as well. In June 2017, he was named one of China's top philanthropists by

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Yidan 1971 births Living people Businesspeople from Guangdong Chinese computer businesspeople 21st-century Chinese philanthropists Shenzhen University alumni Tencent people 21st-century Chinese businesspeople