Zhang Lei ( born 1972) is a Chinese billionaire private equity businessman and philanthropist. He is the founder and chairman of Hillhouse Capital, the largest private equity firm operating in Asia as of October 2021. As of August 2023, his net worth was estimated at US$3.0 billion.

Early life
Zhang received a scholarship to Renmin University of China, where he received a bachelor's degree in economics in 1994. 

In 1999, Lei took a class taught by David F. Swensen, who was the chief investment officer of the Yale Endowment. Swensen became a mentor to Zhang, leading to Zhang interning at the Yale Endowment, his first position in finance. During his studies, Zhang interned at the Yale University Endowment. Zhang translated Swensen's book, Pioneering Portfolio Management, An Unconventional Approach to Institutional Investment (2000), into Chinese while studying at Yale, which, according to the Financial Times, involved creating new Mandarin words for "endowment" and "fiduciary". Lei's investing philosophy is largely based on Swensen's teachings.  

In 2002, he received an MBA and MA in international relations from Yale University. After graduating from Yale, Lei took a role with Virginia equities firm EMM, covering Southeast Asia. He obtained certification as a chartered financial analyst (CFA).

Hillhouse Investment
Zhang founded Hillhouse Investment in 2005, with S$20 million of seed capital from Yale University. Hillhouse invests globally, with a particular focus on Asia, and manages about US $50 billion of assets as of September 2018. Known investors include Yale, Stanford and CPPIB.

In addition, Hillhouse closed the Real Assets Opportunities Fund (RAOF) with over $2 billion, with support of $300 million from CPPIB.

Executive positions
Zhang has sat on, or currently sits on, the board of directors of: JD (formerly 360buy), Qunar (China's largest online travel vertical), Global Mediacom (Indonesia's largest media / TV / pay TV conglomerate), and Blue Moon (a Chinese household care company). He is a founding board member of the United World College (UWC) of Southeast Asia Foundation. Zhang is vice chairman and a trustee of the board at Renmin University of China. He is a trustee of the Yale-NUS College and the chair of the Yale Asia Development Council. He is a member of the Hong Kong Financial Services Development Council. In June 2016, the governing board of Yale University, Yale Corporation, appointed Zhang as a successor trustee.

Philanthropy 
Zhang donated US$8.88 million to the Yale School of Management, the largest alumni donation in the history of the school. He also established Gaoli Academy  () by donating money together with support from Renmin University. In 2010, Zhang donated $1.4 million to his alma mater, Renmin University of China. In 2017, he donated another $43 million to an education fund for the school and gave the commencement speech to the graduating class of 2017. Zhang started Hillhouse Academy in association with Renmin University to prepare students in business for the technological revolution.

Zhang is involved, and holds roles, with the BN Vocational School (BNVS) in China. BNVS started in 2005 as the first non-profit charitable vocational school at secondary school level in China that does not require fees. There are BNVS campuses in a foreign country: Angola, and the nine following cities: Beijing, Chengdu, Dalian, Lijiang, Nanjing, Sanya, Wuhan, Yinchuan, and Zhengzhou.

Zhang funded a low-budget docudrama called Kang Rinpoche (Paths of the Soul) in 2017.

Personal life
Zhang is married, with two children, and lives in Hong Kong.

References

1972 births
20th-century Chinese businesspeople
21st-century Chinese businesspeople
Businesspeople from Henan
Chinese company founders
Chinese financial analysts
Chinese investors
Chinese philanthropists
Chinese venture capitalists
Living people
People from Zhumadian
Renmin University of China alumni
Yale School of Management alumni
CFA charterholders
Chief investment officers
Chinese billionaires
Chinese chairpersons of corporations