Zhang Xin

For other people named Zhang Xin, see Zhang Xin (disambiguation).

In this Chinese name, the family name is Zhang.
Zhang Xin
Zhang in 2019
Born (1965-08-24) 24 August 1965 (age 59)
Beijing, China
EducationUniversity of Sussex
University of Cambridge[1]
Occupation(s)Co-Founder, SOHO China[2] Founder, Closer Media
SpousePan Shiyi
Children2
Websitewww.sohochina.com
www.closermedia.com

Zhang Xin (simplified Chinese: 张欣; traditional Chinese: 張欣; pinyin: Zhāng Xīn, also known as Xin Zhang and Xin "Shynn" Zhang,[3] born 1965) is a Chinese billionaire businesswoman, having primarily earned her fortune in the real estate industry. With her husband Pan Shiyi, she is the co-founder and former CEO of SOHO China, a Chinese office building developer. She stepped down from the role of CEO on 7 September 2022 “in order to focus on supporting the arts and philanthropic pursuits.”[4][5][6] She has since taken on the role of Founder of Closer Media, a New York City-based film production company and financier.[7][8]

Raised in meager circumstances in Beijing and Hong Kong, where she was a factory worker for a time, Zhang eventually came to own companies responsible for dozens of real estate developments in Beijing and Shanghai. In the mid-2010s, Zhang began a transition from a business model of building and selling properties to one of buying and leasing them.[9] Zhang also acquired large stakes in New York City's Park Avenue Plaza and General Motors Building,[10][11][12][2] and launching the SOHO 3Q shared office space sector for this purpose in February 2015.[13] In 2014, Zhang was listed as the 62nd most powerful woman in the world by Forbes,[14] and is "regularly named one of the top businesswomen in the world."[2] Zhang and her husband were also previously ranked by Forbes among the "world's most powerful couples."[15] As one of China's best known female entrepreneurs, Zhang has an online following of nearly 10 million on Sina Weibo.[16]

Zhang and Pan founded the SOHO China Foundation in 2005 as a philanthropic organization to engage in education focused initiatives to alleviate poverty. In 2014, the Foundation launched the SOHO China Scholarships to provide financial aid to Chinese undergraduate students at leading international universities.[17] The SOHO China Scholarships support approximately 50 Chinese students pursuing undergraduate degrees at Harvard, Yale, and the University of Chicago.

  1. ^ "BBC Radio 4 profile of Zhang Xin by Justin Bolby". BBC. 17 March 2013.
  2. ^ a b c "Zhang Xin: The woman who built Beijing". CNBC. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  3. ^ "Jennifer Garner, Bumble Founder and C.E.O. Whitney Wolfe Herd, and theSkimm Co-Founders Danielle Weisberg and Carly Zakin to Speak at Vanity Fair's Second Annual Founders Fair". Vanity Fair. 22 March 2018.
  4. ^ "Billionaire Power Couple Steps Down from Leadership at Soho China". Forbes.
  5. ^ "Pan, Zhang Resign as Chairman, CEO of Soho China". 7 September 2022.
  6. ^ Bradsher, Keith (8 September 2022). "Twilight of Entrepreneurs in China as More Leave the Country". The New York Times.
  7. ^ Grobar, Matt. "Veteran Producers Joey Marra & Nate Matteson Join Closer Media To Oversee Expansion In Non-Fiction & Scripted TV". Deadline. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  8. ^ McClintock, Pamela. "Toronto: Closer Media's Zhang Xin and William Horberg on Landing Three Films at TIFF, Upcoming Elon Musk Doc". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  9. ^ Flannery, Russell (16 September 2015). "Soho China's CEO Zhang Xin: 'The Slowdown Will Continue'". Forbes.
  10. ^ Jonas, Ilaina (2 June 2013). "Two big Manhattan property deals signal recovery, China interest". Reuters.
  11. ^ "GM Building Stake Said to Sell to Zhang, Safra Families". Bloomberg.
  12. ^ Singh, Bryna (30 October 2014). "Controversy over US$10 million donation to Yale: 7 things about China's power couple Pan Shiyi and Zhang Xin". The Straits Times.
  13. ^ Tan, Huileng (14 June 2016). "Tech sector boosting property demand in Beijing, Shanghai: Soho China". CNBC.
  14. ^ "The World's 100 Most Powerful Women". Forbes. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  15. ^ "World's Most Powerful Couples". Forbes. 5 November 2011. Archived from the original on 5 November 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  16. ^ Sina, Weibo. "Weibo". Sina Weibo. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  17. ^ Browne, Andy. "Chinese Property Power Couple Launches $100 Million Education Fund, Starting With Harvard". The Wall Street Journal. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 14 May 2018.