Duan Yongping (; born 1961) is a Chinese-American billionaire entrepreneur and electrical engineer. He was the director of the
Subor Electronics Industry Corporation and founded
BBK Electronics Group (also the former Chairman). Duan's net worth was estimated at $1.5 billion, according to the 2018 Hurun China Rich List.
Early life and education
Born on 10 March 1961 in
Nanchang
Nanchang is the capital of Jiangxi, China. Located in the north-central part of the province and in the hinterland of Poyang Lake Plain, it is bounded on the west by the Jiuling Mountains, and on the east by Poyang Lake. Because of its strate ...
,
Jiangxi
; Gan: )
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, China, Duan entered
Zhejiang University
Zhejiang University (ZJU) is a public university, public research university in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education (China), Ministry of Education. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and D ...
in 1978, majoring in wireless electronics engineering. After graduation, he became a teacher at the adult education center of the Beijing Radio Tube Factory (now
BOE Technology
BOE Technology Group Co., Ltd., or Jingdongfang (), is a Chinese electronic components producer founded in April 1993. Its core businesses are interface devices, smart IoT systems and smart medicine and engineering integration. BOE is one of the ...
). Later, he studied at
Renmin University
The Renmin University of China (RUC) is a public university in Haidian, Beijing, Haidian, Beijing, China. The university is affiliated with the Ministry of Education (China), Ministry of Education, and co-funded by the Ministry of Education and ...
, where he majored in econometrics. He also studied in
CEIBS as an EMBA student for two years.
Career
Subor era
In 1989, he was appointed director of Nihwa Electronics Factory in
Zhongshan
Zhongshan ( zh, c=中山 ), alternately romanized via Cantonese as Chungshan, is a prefecture-level city in the south of the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong province, China. As of the 2020 census, the whole city with 4,418,060 inhabitants is n ...
by the parent Yihua Group. Over six years, he transformed the business's fortunes. The company only had 20 workers including himself. They only had 3000
RMB cash but owed 2 million RMB debts. But after Duan's struggle, it quickly became top producer of the "learning computer" (). Branded as Subor (''Xiao Ba Wang'', ) it was very successful at producing
famiclones for the Chinese and other markets. It also produced video-game facilities, which made a profit of more than 200 million RMB during 1994–1995.
Founding of BBK
On 28 August 1995, Duan resigned from Subor, and founded BBK Electronics Industrial Group in
Dongguan
Dongguan,; pinyin: alternately romanized via Cantonese as Tungkun, is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. An important industrial city in the Pearl River Delta, Dongguan borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou t ...
,
Guangdong Province
) 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 ...
. Its main product was DVD players. It is a well-known brand in cell phone, telephone and stereo devices.
[
From 2002 to 2004, he was the second largest individual shareholder (with more than 10% at peak) of ]NetEase
NetEase, Inc. () is a Chinese Internet technology company founded by Ding Lei in June 1997. It provides online services with content, community, communications, and commerce. The company develops and operates online PC and mobile games, adverti ...
after William Ding Lei
Ding Lei (; born October 1, 1971; also known as William Ding) is a Chinese billionaire businessman, and the founder and CEO of NetEase.
He has made significant contributions to the development of computer networks in mainland China. In late 201 ...
.
Personal life and philanthropy
Together with William Ding Lei, Duan donated to Zhejiang University
Zhejiang University (ZJU) is a public university, public research university in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education (China), Ministry of Education. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and D ...
in September 2006. This is the biggest endowment in recent years for higher education in mainland China.
In 2007, Duan spent US$620,100 to have lunch with Warren Buffett
Warren Edward Buffett ( ; born August 30, 1930) is an American investor and philanthropist who currently serves as the chairman and CEO of the conglomerate holding company Berkshire Hathaway. As a result of his investment success, Buffett is ...
("Power Lunch with Warren Buffett"), the money was donated to the Glide Foundation. Due to his success in the stock market, and philanthropic activities, he has been called the "Chinese Buffett".
Duan founded the Enlight Foundation in 2004. It is run by his spouse Xin Liu, who is also the director and co-founder of Xinhe Foundation (previously Xinping Foundation) in China.
References
Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Duan, Yongping
1961 births
Living people
Chinese billionaires
Businesspeople from Jiangxi
Zhejiang University alumni
Renmin University of China alumni
People from Nanchang
Businesspeople in electronics
OnePlus people
Chinese technology company founders