Liu Qiangdong is the CEO and founder of JD.com, one of the largest e-commerce platforms in the world. A leader in Chinese e-commerce, the team at JD.com is getting in on the philanthropic action as they are led by Liu himself. More than just one of the top tech billionaires in the industry, Liu Qiangdong has dedicated much of his time to philanthropic outreach.
Let’s explore some of the philanthropic and charitable endeavors undertaken by CEO Liu Qiangdong.
JD Gives Away Company Shares
As tech restrictions are tightened in China, JD.com and Alibaba are working overtime to help propel common prosperity to the second-largest economy in the world, as urged by President Xi Jinping.
Liu Qiangdong has led the charge on the common prosperity drive through engineering company share donations worth more than $2.34 billion. Liu will give away, in total, more than 62.4 million Class B (ordinary) shares of JD.com. The shares will be donated to a third-party foundation for the purposes of charity, JD.com reported in a company announcement. Shares of JD.com are presently traded on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange as well as on the NASDAQ.
While JD.com is far from the only tech company getting in on the charitable donation drive, they are by far the most giving and vocal of the bunch. Other tech leaders involved in the recent charity drives include the founders of ByteDance, Tencent, and Meituan. Those three figures alone have donated in excess of 11 billion dollars total.
Donations from notable figures in China’s tech sector have been propelled by the economic prosperity that China’s economy has experienced. From 2011 to 2020, China’s GDP more than doubled while the richest members of the nation saw their wealth increase by sixfold. In an effort to bring wealth and prosperity to more people, President Xi Jinping has become a vocal leader in urging groups like JD, Alibaba, and Pinduoduo to make charitable donations.
At the time of this writing, Liu has a fortune worth an excess of $15.9 billion, according to Forbes. Liu first began his ascent up the business ladder by opening his first retail shop in 1998. After the original business failed, Qiangdong would transition to an online platform where he would help to create some of China’s most powerful internet businesses.
Other tech giants donating include Xiaomi’s CEO Lei Jun ($2.2 billion worth of shares donated) as well as Wang Xing, Chairman at Meituan.
About Liu Qiangdong
Liu Qiangdong was born in China nearly 700km south of Beijing proper. Growing up in a small village, Qiangdong was raised in poverty, leaving his family to eat only sweet potatoes for much of the year. After leaving his village behind, Qiangdong would go on to attend the People’s University of China, acing the rigorous curriculum while developing his own restaurant outside of the university’s primary campus.
After graduating from university and integrating himself into the herbal supplement company Japan Life, Qiangdong would work his way up to Director of Computers and Service. A few short years later, Qiangdong would develop the venture that grew into JD.com, one of the largest e-commerce platforms on the internet.
Now committed to fostering the growth of JD.com, Liu Qiangdong spends his spare time pursuing philanthropic efforts to support others.
Learn more about Liu Qiangdong at JD.com.
