He Xiangjian
Chinese industrialist; founder of the home-appliance maker Midea Group and its ultimate controlling person
| He Xiangjian
| |
|---|---|
| Born | 11 8 1942 (age 84 years old (as of 2026)
) (Forbes) Shunde, Guangdong, China |
| Occupation | Industrialist |
| Known for | Founder of Midea Group |
| Children | 3 (Forbes) |
He Xiangjian (Template:Lang; born 1942) is a Chinese industrialist who founded Midea Group, one of the world's largest makers of home appliances.[1] Midea's 2025 annual report names him as the company's ultimate controlling person, through the holding company Midea Holding.[2] He stepped down as Midea's chairman in 2012, according to Forbes.[1] On 20 October 2026 the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires list ranked He Xiangjian & family 59th in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$37.35 billion; Forbes lists the source of wealth as Home appliances.[1][3] In the annual World's Billionaires list published in 2026, Forbes had ranked He Xiangjian 63rd, at US$33.2 billion.[4]
Early life and founding of Midea
Forbes records that He was born on 11 August 1942 in Shunde, Guangdong. It says that in 1968 he led 23 residents of the town of Beijiao in Guangdong to set up a workshop making lids, which grew into Midea.[1] Nanfang Daily describes him as a Shunde native and names his home village as Xijiao in Beijiao town.[5]
Midea Group
Midea's shares trade in Shenzhen and Hong Kong.[1] Its Hong Kong listing date was 17 September 2024.[2] In its 2025 annual report, filed with the Hong Kong exchange in April 2026, Midea reported record revenue of RMB458.5 billion, up 12.1%, and net profit attributable to shareholders of RMB43.95 billion. The German robot maker KUKA is a Midea subsidiary.[2] Forbes says Midea took KUKA private from the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in 2022.[1] The chairman is Fang Hongbo.[2]
According to the annual report, at 31 December 2025 Midea Holding was the beneficial owner of 2,169,178,713 A shares. That was 31.23% of the A shares and 28.55% of the company's total issued share capital. He was shown as interested in the same shares through corporations he controls, and as directly owning a further 31,909,643 A shares (0.42% of the total). The report describes Midea Holding as the ultimate holding company and He Xiangjian as the ultimate controlling person. It also lists long-standing undertakings given by Midea Holding and He, as controlling shareholder and actual controller, on competition and related-party dealings with the listed group.[2]
Family
Forbes says his son He Jianfeng is a director of the Hong Kong-listed Midea Real Estate Holding and has sizeable stakes in the Shenzhen-listed environmental equipment maker Infore Environment Technology Group and the film company Beijing Baination Pictures.[1] In 2017 Nanfang Daily identified He Jianfeng as chairman of the family's He Foundation.[5]
Philanthropy
On 25 July 2017, in Shunde, He announced a charitable plan worth 6 billion yuan. It comprised 100 million Midea Group shares, to be placed in a permanent charitable trust with Midea Holding as settlor, and 2 billion yuan in cash. Nanfang Daily reported that the Guangdong He Xiangjian Charitable Foundation, which he had set up in December 2013, was renamed the Guangdong He Foundation (Template:Lang). Officials described the cash-funded Shunde community trust as the largest charitable trust in China by funds. The money was to go to poverty relief, education, health, elderly care, entrepreneurship, culture and local charities, including in his home village.[5]
In May 2023 Midea announced the He Xiangjian Science Fund at the Greater Bay Area Science Forum in Guangzhou. He funded it personally with 3 billion yuan. It is designed to run independently and in perpetuity, giving prizes and grants for basic research in fields including information science and AI, health, and energy and climate. Midea's chairman, Fang Hongbo, chairs the fund.[6] Forbes reported this as a pledge of US$410 million for scientific research in China.[1]
Wealth
Forbes lists him as "He Xiangjian & family" and gives home appliances as the source of the family's wealth.[1]
Wealth history
Forbes has included this entry in its annual World's Billionaires list in 19 of the editions from 2001 to 2026 checked for this profile, starting with 2008. The table gives the rank and estimated net worth in each annual list.[4][1]
| Year | World's Billionaires rank | Net worth (US$ bn) |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 652 | 1.9 |
| 2009 | 397 | 1.8 |
| 2010 | 287 | 3.3 |
| 2011 | 185 | 5.5 |
| 2012 | 161 | 6.2 |
| 2013 | 437 | 3.1 |
| 2014 | 190 | 7.1 |
| 2015 | 125 | 9.9 |
| 2016 | 122 | 9.0 |
| 2017 | 102 | 12.3 |
| 2018 | 50 | 20.1 |
| 2019 | 50 | 19.8 |
| 2020 | 36 | 21.6 |
| 2021 | 37 | 37.7 |
| 2022 | 49 | 28.3 |
| 2023 | 64 | 23.4 |
| 2024 | 80 | 25.1 |
| 2025 | 73 | 27.0 |
| 2026 | 63 | 33.2 |
Political activity
No party, legislative or lobbying roles were documented for He in the sources checked. Midea's 2023 announcement of his science fund credited his business success to the strategy of the Party and government and to reform and opening-up.[6]
International and political links
This section uses the same ten headings for every profile in this series. Only specific, sourced actions are included; company-level and foundation-level actions are labelled as such. Where nothing was found, the entry reads "No documented involvement found in sources checked."
Israel (investments, operations, donations, contracts, statements)
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Zionist or pro-Israel organisations and lobbying groups
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Jewish communal charities
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Gulf states
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
China
He is the ultimate controlling person of Midea Group, a Chinese company listed in Shenzhen and Hong Kong.[2] His science fund supports basic research in China.[6]
Russia
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
India
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Palestinian or Arab causes
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Home government
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Other international links
Midea owns the German robot maker KUKA.[2][1]
See also
External links
Notes
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 Forbes, Forbes profile record for He Xiangjian & family (Forbes data feed behind forbes.com/profile/he-xiangjian/) Forbes, live record, read 20 October 2026, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Midea Group Co., Ltd., 2025 Annual Report (stock code 0300) HKEXnews (Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing), 24 April 2026, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ Forbes, Forbes Real-Time Billionaires data feed Forbes, live; downloaded 20 October 2026 11:51 UTC, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Forbes, Forbes World's Billionaires list data feed, annual editions 2001–2026 (one file per year at this path with the year substituted; all 26 files downloaded and read) Forbes, annual lists; downloaded 20 October 2026, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 南方日报 (Nanfang Daily), via 央广网 (CNR), 何享健发布60亿慈善捐赠计划 树立国内公益慈善新标杆 (He Xiangjian announces 6bn-yuan charitable donation plan, setting a new benchmark for philanthropy in China) 央广网 (China National Radio online), 26 July 2017, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Midea Group, 何享健科学基金正式发布 (He Xiangjian Science Fund officially launched) Midea Group (midea.com.cn), 21 May 2023, accessed 20 October 2026.