In 1994, a year after he launched what would become the world’s largest English-language tutoring company, the New Oriental Education and Technology Group, Yu Minhong was accosted by thieves outside his Beijing apartment, roughed up and forcibly tranquilized. When the lanky teacher came to, his apartment had been ransacked and he was missing two million RMB in cash (about $150,000 at the time). Years later, after the criminals were apprehended, it was discovered that they were responsible for a spate of violent robberies and had murdered six people. Yu was their only surviving victim.
Fortune has long favored Yu. Through his gargantuan success with New Oriental, which operated some 120 schools across 104 Chinese cities, he became, perhaps, the richest teacher on earth, amassing a net worth of $3 billion. Still, Yu is famously frugal. He drives a nondescript sedan and refrains from extravagant dress; some years ago at a talk, he wore a suit worth 300 RMB, or about $50. “If
Exclusive longform investigative journalism, Q&As, news and analysis, and data on Chinese business elites and corporations. We publish China scoops you won't find anywhere else.
A weekly curated reading list on China from David Barboza, Pulitzer Prize-winning former Shanghai correspondent for The New York Times.
A daily roundup of China finance, business and economics headlines.
We offer discounts for groups, institutions and students. Go to our Subscriptions page for details.
When China announced it was ending quarantine requirements for incoming travelers, Chinese people collectively picked up their phones to search popular travel apps like Ctrip and Qunar. Owned by travel giant Trip.com, these apps helped Chinese travelers explore the world pre-pandemic and facilitated the human-to-human interactions that drove China's rise. But many of today's travelers seem to be sticking closer to home, and their hesitation to get back to the jetsetting habits of the past 20 years has far-reaching implications — especially for Trip.com.
The professor talks about China's real estate bubble; if China can develop a modern financial system without rule of law; and why it's not China that is reshaping the global order, but the world's response...