Who is William Ding?
William Ding, whose Chinese name is Ding Lei, is the founder and chief executive of NetEase, one of China’s largest internet and gaming companies. Forbes’ real-time list valued him at $39.2 billion on 25 July 2026, 53rd in the world and fourth in China at the time, and he held about 45% of NetEase in March 2026 123.
How did William Ding make his money?
By building NetEase, which he founded in June 1997 as an email and portal company and turned into a games powerhouse with titles such as Fantasy Westward Journey. He became the richest person on the Chinese mainland in 2003, with 7.6 billion yuan, which made him the country’s first internet and gaming billionaire 456. MarketScreener lists his holding at 45.05% of NetEase, or 1.45 billion shares, in March 2026 3.
Early life and education
Ding was born on 1 October 1971 in Fenghua, Ningbo, in Zhejiang province. He studied at the Chengdu Institute of Radio Engineering, now the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, and earned a bachelor’s degree in communication technology 78.
NetEase
He worked as an engineer at a government department in Ningbo and then at the software company Sybase before founding NetEase. He has been a director since July 1999 and chief executive since November 2005. In 2012 NetEase branched into pork production, and Ding’s company also brought Marvel comics such as Iron Man and Captain America to China 569. Read William Ding’s companies.
Family
He married Wang Xunfang in 2006 and has three children 7.
William Ding net worth
Forbes valued him at $47.5 billion on its China’s 100 Richest 2025 list, when he climbed into China’s top five, and at $39.2 billion in real time on 25 July 2026, about ₹3.7 lakh crore at ₹94 to the dollar 110. The Hurun China Rich List 2025 put him at 320 billion yuan, sixth in China 11. See William Ding net worth and our ranking of the top 50 richest people in the world.