Richard Liu Qiangdong is a Chinese Internet entrepreneur and the founder and chairman of China e-commerce firm JD.com. Qiangdong Liu was born in Beijing, China, on October 28, 1972. Liu Qiangdong graduated from Tsinghua University with a degree in economics. In 1998 he founded JD.com, which became one of China’s largest online retailers.
He has been named to Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list for four consecutive years (2009–2012). Raised in Jiangsu province, Liu attended high school at Nanjing No. 1 High School. After graduating from Tsinghua University in 1996, he worked as an intern at McKinsey & Company in New York City before returning to China to found JD.com. He has a degree in Sociology from the Renmin University of China and later got an EMBA from China Europe International Business School.
Richard has managed to accrue a few important accolades over the years Richard Liu has been featured as an Honoree in Variety 500 website entitled, “JD.com Richard Liu; Founder / Chairman / CEO”, as a result of his persistence, innovation, and hard work.
Richard started his career working for McKinsey & Co., where he focused on retailing and consumer goods industries. His first major success came when he cofounded JD.com in 1998. As an internet entrepreneur, Liu has been credited with helping to create China’s e-commerce industry. In 2006, Liu sold his stake in JD.com to Tencent Holdings Ltd. for $1.2 billion.
The company went public in 2014, raising $15 billion. JD.com is China’s second-largest e-commerce company by revenue after Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. It operates more than 300 stores across China and sells products ranging from electronics to clothing. Starting as booth sellers at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, JD.com now offers over 2 million items for sale through its website and mobile app.
In 2009, Liu was included in the Forbes “30 under 30” list. In 2010, Liu was listed among the top 10 entrepreneurs in Asia by Fortune magazine. In 2011, Liu Qiangdong was ranked #3 on Forbes’ list of the world’ JD.com has also expanded into other businesses such as logistics and cloud computing. In 2012, Liu received the Global Entrepreneurship Award from the World Economic Forum.
In 2013, Liu was awarded the title of Honorary Professor by Renmin University of China. In 2015, Liu won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the World Internet Conference. As a philanthropist, Liu donated US$100 million to the Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management in 2016. Go to this page for additional information.
Follow his Twitter page on https://twitter.com/liu_qiangdong