Who is Gao Haichun, the ‘Solar Goddess’ married to Chagee billionaire founder Zhang Jiejun?

Nicknamed the “Solar Goddess” on Chinese social media for her prominence and public image in the renewable-energy sector, Gao, 31, studied economics at Brown University in the U.S., according to Bloomberg.

She worked briefly at consulting firm McKinsey & Co before joining Trina Solar’s investment arm in 2017. She now serves as co-chairman of Trina Solar and president of the company’s solutions business unit.

Trina Solar, founded by Gao’s father Gao Jifan in 1997 and headquartered in Changzhou, is publicly listed in both New York and Shanghai. The solar-panel maker has a market valuation of about 40.85 billion yuan (US$5.8 billion) as of Thursday.

Gao has represented Trina Solar and the wider renewables industry on major global stages, including the World Economic Forum in Davos, the Boao Forum for Asia, and COP28, advocating the global green-energy transition and China’s approach to cutting carbon emissions.

In 2025 she was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.

Gao is also part of a new generation of Chinese heirs and executives poised to inherit substantial wealth as the country’s private-sector founders hand over more of the reins.

The South China Morning Post reported that she met Zhang at a networking event for young entrepreneurs. The two registered their marriage in June, and their wedding celebration is scheduled for Dec. 15.

Zhang grew up in poverty in Yunnan and became an orphan at age 10. He founded tea and beverage company Chagee in 2017, and after Chagee’s Nasdaq listing in April, a surge in the stock helped lift his estimated net worth to about $2.1 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.