Liu, 50, who also goes by Liu Qiangdong, annually distributes gifts ahead of the Lunar New Year in his hometown of Guangming Village in eastern China’s Jiangsu province, as reported by the South China Morning Post.
The billionaire with a net worth of $6.6 billion reportedly visited the village last year and gave locals down jackets and food.
The tradition reflects his lasting gratitude to his fellow villagers, who together donated 500 yuan and 76 eggs to help fund his university studies in the early 1990s. “My fellow men’s help is the starting point for me to step towards the world,” Liu said.
Richard Liu Qiangdong, chairman of online retailer JD.com, attends a press conference in Beijing, China, March 10, 2018. Photo by Imaginechina via AFP |
Born to a poor family in the village, Liu attended primary and secondary school in the rural area. He had seldom left the village before traveling to Beijing in 1992 to attend Renmin University, one of China’s top educational institutions.
The money donated by villagers partly funded his studies at the school, while those unable to contribute cash gave him eggs so he would have food for his lengthy journey.
“I couldn’t take a chicken to Beijing but I could take eggs,” Liu said in a 2017 interview with Financial Times. “For the entire first week I was in Beijing I just ate eggs.”
At the school, he majored in sociology while studying programming and writing computer code on the side, according to Caixin Global.
He ventured into business in 1994 by opening a restaurant near campus but chose not to take a management role due to his lack of experience. His staff ended up embezzling money, and the establishment went bankrupt within months, leaving Liu in debt.
After graduating and working for a Japanese company for two years, Liu again tried his hand at entrepreneurship in 1998. He invested 12,000 yuan to launch Jingdong Century Trading, a consumer electronics shop.
The business quickly flourished, expanding to 12 locations within five years and generating over 10 million yuan. However, it faced difficulties and was on the brink of collapse when severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) struck.
Liu realized that the demand for online shopping would persist even after the crisis, so he shifted his business online in 2004, creating a platform called 360buy Jingdong during the early days of China’s internet boom. By the next year, the company had shut down all its physical stores.
It rebranded as JD.com and successfully raised $1.8 billion through an initial public offering on the Nasdaq in 2014.
It has since grown to become one of China’s largest e-commerce companies, with revenues of 1.08 trillion yuan in 2023.
Liu married Zhang Zetian, a Tsinghua University graduate 19 years younger than him, in 2015. The two crossed paths in New York, where Liu was attending Columbia University and Zhang was studying as an exchange student at Barnard College.
Zhang is well-known in China by the nickname “Milk Tea Little Sister,” which she earned after a photo of her holding the beverage went viral in 2009.
In 2018, Liu faced a lawsuit filed by a former University of Minnesota student who accused him of rape, as reported by The Global Times.
He was arrested on suspicion of felony rape, but prosecutors chose not to bring criminal charges due to “serious evidentiary problems” in the case.
The lawsuit was resolved outside of court in 2022, the same year Liu left his post as CEO of his company. He has been quietly steering the business from London, where he primarily spends his time.
Though he has come a long way from his humble beginnings, he remains deeply appreciative of his hometown village.
“My parents and grandparents taught us a lot — not Chinese or maths but a sense of values, of how you should be and how you should treat others,” Liu said, reflecting on his upbringing.
His tradition of giving back started as early as 2016, when he took his wife to the village.
“He has no obligation to do that. His money is also earned through hard work,” a 71-year-old man in Guangming Village commented on Liu’s generosity, adding that he would still be grateful to the tycoon, even without any future gifts.
“(…) He has made great contributions to the village. We will not forget him in the next decade.”
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