Zeng is the chairman of Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., the largest supplier of electric vehicle batteries in the world. The Ningde, China-based company reported revenue of 29.4 billion yuan ($4.5 billion) in 2018 and has more than 17,900 employees. It started trading publicly in Shenzhen on June 11, 2018.
Zeng Yuqun's net worth of $16.9B can buy ...
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The majority of Zeng's fortune is derived from his 26% stake in Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., a battery products manufacturer. CATL is the largest supplier of electric vehicle batteries in the world, according to its website.
He owns the shares through holding company Ruiting Investment, according to CATL's 2019 third-quarter report.
The value of his cash investments is based on an analysis of dividends, insider transactions, taxes and market performance.
Elaine Huang, spokeswoman of the company, declined to comment on the billionaire's net worth.
Zeng was born in a village in Ningde, Fujian Province, southeast of China in 1968. He went to Shanghai Jiaotong University to study marine engineering at the age of 18.
He joined an electronic parts factory after graduation where he worked for 10 years. Zeng co-founded Amperex Technology in 1999 with two former colleagues. The company produced batteries for digital gadgets, including iPhones, according to a Financial Times report in 2018.
He did further study on electronic information at South China University of Technology and received a masters degree in 2001. He later obtained a PhD degree in physics from Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2006.
Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., was spun off Amperex Technology in 2011. It was the largest supplier of electric vehicle batteries by sales in the world in 2017. The company began trading publicly in Shenzhen in June 2018.