Zhang Lei (investor)

Zhang Lei
Lei in 2012
Born1972 (age 51–52)
Alma materYale School of Management
Yale University
Renmin University
OccupationBusinessman
TitleFounder and chairman, Hillhouse Investment
Children2

Zhang Lei (born 1972) is an investor and philanthropist. He is the founder and chairman of Hillhouse Investment, the largest private equity firm operating in Asia as of October 2021.[1]

Early life and education

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Lei received a scholarship to Renmin University of China, where he received a bachelor's degree in economics in 1994.[2][3]

In 1999, Lei took a class taught by David F. Swensen, who was the chief investment officer of the Yale Endowment.[2] Swensen became a mentor to Lei, leading to Lei interning at the Yale Endowment, his first position in finance.[2] During his studies, Lei interned at the Yale University Endowment.[2][4] Lei translated Swensen's book, Pioneering Portfolio Management, An Unconventional Approach to Institutional Investment (2000), into Chinese while studying at Yale, which, according to the Financial Times, involved creating new Mandarin words for "endowment" and "fiduciary".[2] Lei's investing philosophy is largely based on Swensen's teachings.[2]

In 2002, he received an MBA and MA in international relations from Yale University.[5] After graduating from Yale, Lei took a role with Virginia equities firm EMM, covering Southeast Asia.[6][7] He obtained certification as a chartered financial analyst (CFA).[when?][4]

Career

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Lei founded Hillhouse Investment in 2005, with S$20 million of seed capital from Yale University.[8] Hillhouse invests globally, with a particular focus on Asia, and manages about US $50 billion of assets as of September 2018.[9] Known investors include Yale, Stanford and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB).[10]

In addition, Hillhouse closed the Real Assets Opportunities Fund (RAOF) with over $2 billion, with support of $300 million from CPPIB.[11]

Lei is a founding board member of the United World College (UWC) of Southeast Asia Foundation.[12][13] He is a founding board member of the United World College (UWC) of Southeast Asia Foundation.[12] Lei is vice chairman and a trustee of the board at Renmin University of China.[13] He is a trustee of the Yale-NUS College and the chair of the Yale Asia Development Council and a member of the Hong Kong Financial Services Development Council.[13][14] In June 2016, the governing board of Yale University, Yale Corporation, appointed Lei as a successor trustee.[15] In 2020, he was named to the board of directors of FCLTGlobal and serves on the advisory board for the Bloomberg New Economy Forum.[16][17]

As of August 2023, his net worth was estimated at US$3.0 billion.[18]

Philanthropy

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Lei donated US$8.88 million to the Yale School of Management, the largest alumni donation in the history of the school.[2] He also established Gaoli Academy[19] (高礼研究院) by donating money together with support from Renmin University.[20][12] In 2010, Lei donated $1.4 million to his alma mater, Renmin University of China.[21] In 2017, he donated another $43 million to an education fund for the school[21] and gave the commencement speech to the graduating class of 2017.[22] Lei started Hillhouse Academy in association with Renmin University to prepare students in business for the technological revolution.[23] He has been involved with the BN Vocational School (BNVS) in China.[24]

Lei funded a low-budget docudrama called Kang Rinpoche (Paths of the Soul) in 2017.[25]

References

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  1. ^ Wu, Kane (28 October 2021). "Hong Kong's PAG seeking to raise $9 bln with new buyout fund". Reuters.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Sender, Henny (20 June 2014). "Zhang Lei has Lunch with the FT". Financial Times. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  3. ^ "Zhang Lei". Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Lei Zhang CFA". Bloomberg L.P. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  5. ^ Stevenson, Alexandra. "The Chinese Billionaire Zhang Lei Spins Research Into Investment Gold". New York Times. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  6. ^ "毕业之后，张磊进入了全球新兴市场投资基金，主要负责南非、东南亚以及中国的投资项目，时". 休闲阅读 (in Chinese). Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  7. ^ 艾问 (17 March 2021). "高瓴资本张磊：究竟是哲学家还是"资本戏精"？". 界面新闻 · JMedia (in Chinese). Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  8. ^ "Lei Zhang – Hillhouse Capital Management (Beijing)". Value Investing Congress. Archived from the original on 8 March 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  9. ^ Hu, Bei (19 September 2018). "Hillhouse Gets $10.6 Billion for Year's No. 3 Buyout Fund". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  10. ^ "Lei Zhang - Hillhouse Capital Management (Beijing)". Value Investing Congress. Archived from the original on 8 March 2015. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  11. ^ "Hillhouse Reaches $2B Close on First Asia Real Estate Fund with $300M Boost from CPPIB". Mingtiandi. 21 August 2022.
  12. ^ a b c "Brookings Announces New Trustees". Brookings Institution. 19 July 2013. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  13. ^ a b c "Mr Zhang Lei". Yale NUS College. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
  14. ^ "Council Membership". Financial Services Development Council. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
  15. ^ "Yale announces new trustees, senior fellow". Yale University. 9 June 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  16. ^ Whyte, Amy (2 January 2020). "Wiseman Steps Down From FCLTGlobal Following BlackRock Termination". Institutional Investor. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  17. ^ "Third Annual Bloomberg New Economy Forum to Virtually Convene This November, Calling on Global Business and Government Leaders to Shape 'Our New Economy' in a Post-Covid World". markets.businessinsider.com. 2 September 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  18. ^ "Forbes profile: Lei Zhang". Forbes. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  19. ^ "Hillhouse Academy". Hillhouse Academy. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  20. ^ "Mr Zhang Lei joins the Yale-NUS Governing Board". www.yale-nus.edu.sg. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  21. ^ a b "Hillhouse Capital's Zhang Lei Establishes US$43M Education Fund For Renmin University". China Money Network. 26 June 2017. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
  22. ^ "给中国人民大学捐3亿的张磊：用人文的情怀雕琢自己美化身边_财经上下游_澎湃新闻-The Paper". www.thepaper.cn. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
  23. ^ Yue, Pan (26 June 2017). "Hillhouse Capital's Zhang Lei Establishes US$43M Education Fund For Renmin University". China Money Network. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  24. ^ "Mr Zhang Lei joins the Yale-NUS Governing Board". www.yale-nus.edu.sg. 13 August 2014.
  25. ^ "Alumni in Action". Financial Times. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
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