William Ding, known in Chinese as Ding Lei, is the founder and chief executive of NetEase, the Hangzhou based technology company that grew from a modest free email service into one of the world’s largest online games businesses. Forbes has described him as China’s first internet and gaming billionaire, a status he reached in 2003, and he has stayed on the country’s rich lists for two decades since.
His story is unusual among Chinese tech founders for its length and its turns. Ding kept control of the company he started in 1997 through a Nasdaq listing, a near delisting crisis, a pivot to games, and a long rivalry with Tencent. He also became known for side projects far from gaming, including a high tech pig farm and a nonprofit translation of foreign university lectures into Chinese.
Early Life and Education
Ding was born on 1 October 1971 in Fenghua, a district of Ningbo in Zhejiang province, according to published profiles. He grew up in a middle class family during the early years of China’s economic opening and showed an early interest in electronics.
He studied telecommunications engineering at what is now the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China in Chengdu. Forbes lists his degree as a bachelor’s from that institution, and other profiles describe the field as communication technology or telecommunications engineering.
After graduating, Ding worked briefly in a local government telecommunications office in Ningbo and then joined the Guangzhou office of Sybase, a US software company. That technical and commercial experience came before he struck out on his own.
Founding NetEase
Ding founded NetEase in June 1997. The company started small, with a handful of people, and focused on web hosting and free email. Its 163.com mail service, named after the numbers Chinese users once dialed to connect to the internet, became one of the country’s most popular email services and helped bring new users online.
NetEase listed on Nasdaq in 1999, raising about US$70 million, according to profiles of the company. The early years were rocky. Reporting on the period describes accounting problems and a false revenue report that led to a suspension of trading for several months around 2001. The stock later recovered sharply, and Ding’s decision to move the business toward online games proved to be the turning point.
The Pivot to Online Games
Ding shifted NetEase’s focus from a general internet portal to multiplayer online games. The company released Fantasy Westward Journey in 2001, a title inspired by a classic Chinese novel, and it became one of the most durable games in the country. A mobile version followed in 2015 and reached hundreds of millions of users.
By 2003, the games business had made Ding China’s richest person and the country’s first internet and gaming billionaire, at the age of 32. Forbes still cites that milestone in its profile of him.
NetEase later built a broad portfolio. Forbes notes legacy titles such as Fantasy Westward Journey alongside newer releases including the casual game Eggy Party and the battle game Justice Mobile, which uses AI to generate storylines. Other widely cited NetEase titles include Identity V and Naraka: Bladepoint.
Partnerships, Rivalry and Diversification
NetEase became the Chinese partner for Blizzard Entertainment titles including World of Warcraft and StarCraft, bringing global games to Chinese players. It also published Diablo Immortal and, in later years, launched Marvel Rivals, a team based shooter that drew international attention.
Competition with Tencent, China’s largest games company, shaped much of NetEase’s strategy. Forbes notes that NetEase responded to that pressure by expanding into movies, e-commerce and online music.
Those businesses include NetEase Cloud Music, the online education and translation platform Youdao, and the e-commerce arm Yanxuan. Together they give NetEase a wider consumer footprint than games alone, though gaming remains its most visible engine.
Farming, Education and Life Outside Gaming
Ding’s interests have often run outside the technology mainstream. In 2009 he announced plans for a high tech pig farm, motivated by concerns about food safety in China. NetEase’s farming arm, known as Weiyang, opened its first facility in Zhejiang in 2012, and Yanxuan sells pork sourced from the company’s own farms, according to Forbes.
In 2010, Ding funded the translation of thousands of hours of English language university lectures into Chinese, making them available as a free online resource. He told Forbes in 2012 that he was proud of the project and that it generated no advertising revenue.
He is also reported to have bought a Bel Air mansion in Los Angeles from Elon Musk in 2020. Ding keeps a low public profile and rarely gives interviews, which has added to his reputation as a reserved figure in a highly visible industry.
How Rich Is William Ding?
Ding’s fortune is tied mainly to his stake in NetEase, which trades in New York and Hong Kong. Forbes publishes a real time net worth figure that moves with the share price, so any single number is a snapshot rather than a fixed sum.
In its profile updated in November 2026, Forbes listed Ding’s real time net worth at US$41.3 billion as of 11 November 2026. The same profile placed him at number 49 in the world at that moment and noted 35 appearances on Forbes lists.
These figures are estimates produced by Forbes and should be read as unverified outside calculations. They are not audited statements of wealth, and they change with market conditions.
Summary Table of Estimates
| Source | Published Amount | Date | Caveat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forbes | US$41.3 billion | 11 November 2026 | Real time estimate based on NetEase share price; moves daily |
| Forbes | US$42.1 billion | 13 October 2026 | Earlier real time snapshot from the same tracker |
The two figures come from the same source on different dates and illustrate how quickly a market linked estimate can shift. Neither is a verified statement of Ding’s total assets.
What Makes William Ding Different
Ding belongs to the first generation of Chinese internet entrepreneurs, yet he has outlasted many of his peers at the helm of the same company. Where some founders became public personalities, he has stayed behind the scenes and let the products carry the attention.
His willingness to experiment beyond gaming, from pigs to open university lectures, sets him apart from executives who stay inside their core market. Those projects are small next to NetEase’s games business, but they reflect a founder who treats the company as a platform for personal interests as well as profit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is William Ding?
William Ding, also known as Ding Lei, is the founder and chief executive of NetEase, one of China’s largest online games and internet services companies.
When did he found NetEase?
He founded NetEase in June 1997, starting with web hosting and free email before moving into online games.
When did he become a billionaire?
Forbes identifies Ding as China’s first internet and gaming billionaire, a status reached in 2003 when he was also named the country’s richest person.
How does NetEase make money?
Online games are the core of the business, supported by online music, education and translation services through Youdao, and e-commerce through Yanxuan.
Is his net worth verified?
No. Published figures such as the Forbes real time estimate are calculations based on his stake and market prices. They are not audited and change frequently.
Featured image: "Ding" Darling of the Des Moines Register / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain).
