Wang Chuanfu

Wang Chuanfu
Image	; Wang Chuanfu at IAA 2023
Born	8 April 1966 (Forbes)
Nationality	Chinese
Residence	Shenzhen, China (Forbes)
Occupation	Businessman, engineer
Known for	Founder of BYD
Education	Central South University, Changsha; MSc, Beijing Non-Ferrous Metals Research Institute

Chinese engineer and businessman; founder, chairman and chief executive of BYD

Wang Chuanfu (Chinese: 王传福; born 8 April 1966) is a Chinese engineer and businessman. He co-founded BYD ("Build Your Dreams") as a rechargeable battery maker in Shenzhen in 1995 and, as chairman and chief executive, built it into one of the world's largest electric vehicle makers.^[1]^[2] On 10 November 2026 the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires list ranked Wang Chuanfu 125th in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$21.2 billion; Forbes lists the source of wealth as batteries, automobiles.^[1]^[3] In the annual World's Billionaires list published in 2026, Forbes had ranked Wang Chuanfu 116th, at US$21.5 billion.^[4] El País reports that he is a member of the Chinese Communist Party and that BYD has benefited from state subsidies and tax breaks for the electric vehicle industry.^[2] BYD's expansion abroad has included factories in Hungary and Brazil. In Brazil, prosecutors sued BYD and two contractors in 2025 over conditions "analogous to slavery" on its factory construction site.^[5]^[6]

Early life and education

Forbes reports that Wang was born in 1966 in a farming village in one of China's poorest provinces, was orphaned as a teenager and was raised by his elder brother and sister.^[1] El País says he was the youngest of eight children and that his siblings paid for his education. He studied at Central South University in Changsha and took a master's degree in battery technology at the Beijing Non-Ferrous Metals Research Institute.^[2]

BYD

After working as a researcher at a state institute, Wang became general manager of a battery company in Shenzhen that the institute founded in 1993.^[2] In 1995, aged 29, he founded BYD with a 250,000-yuan loan from his cousin Lu Xiangyang.^[2] The company began by making batteries for mobile phones, for customers such as Motorola and Nokia.^[1] In 2003 BYD bought the struggling Qinchuan Machinery Works and set up BYD Auto, and in 2005 it launched its first car, the F3.^[2] Berkshire Hathaway. In 2008 Berkshire Hathaway took a stake of about 10% for around US$230 million after Charlie Munger championed the company.^[1]^[2] Forbes says Berkshire had fully exited by 2025, having made billions of dollars.^[1] El País reports that Wang became China's richest man in 2009.^[2] Global expansion. In 2025 El País reported that BYD sold more than three million electric and hybrid cars a year, exported to more than 60 countries and had overtaken Tesla as the largest seller of electric vehicles by volume.^[2] Reuters reported in June 2026 that BYD's first European car plant, in Szeged, Hungary, would start production in the fourth quarter of 2026, about a year late. A planned US$1 billion plant in Turkey was on hold, and building cars in Europe would help BYD avoid EU tariffs on Chinese-made electric cars.^[5]

Brazil labour case

In December 2024 Brazilian authorities rescued Chinese workers from the construction site of BYD's factory in Camaçari, Bahia. The BBC reported 220 workers, and g1 later reported 224.^[6]^[7] In May 2025 Bahia's labour prosecutors (MPT) sued BYD and the contractors China JinJiang Construction Brazil and Tecmonta, alleging human trafficking and conditions "analogous to slavery". They sought R$257 million in damages.^[6]^[8] Prosecutors said workers' passports had been confiscated, up to 70% of their pay had been withheld, and one toilet was shared by 31 people.^[6] BYD said it had "zero tolerance for violations of human rights and labour laws" and was cooperating with the investigation.^[6]^[8] In December 2025 the parties reached a R$40 million settlement. BYD acted as guarantor, liable only if the two contractors failed to pay.^[7]

Wealth

Forbes lists his source of wealth as batteries and automobiles and classes him as self-made.^[1] El País describes him as a modest man who flies economy when he can and for years lived with his wife and daughter in company housing in Shenzhen.^[2]

Wealth history

Forbes has included this entry in its annual World's Billionaires list in 18 of the editions from 2001 to 2026 checked for this profile, starting with 2009. The table gives the rank and estimated net worth in each annual list.^[4]^[1]

Forbes estimates by list year
Year	World's Billionaires rank	Net worth (US$ bn)
2009	559	1.3
2010	189	4.4
2011	420	2.7
2012	683	1.9
2013	641	2.3
2014	345	4.3
2015	435	3.9
2016	338	4.4
2017	414	4.2
2018	372	5.2
2019	452	4.3
2020	401	4.4
2021	118	16.3
2022	83	19.5
2023	88	18.7
2024	131	14.2
2025	76	26.4
2026	116	21.5

Political affiliation

El País reports that Wang is a member of the Chinese Communist Party and that the electric vehicle industry, a strategic sector, benefited from billions in subsidies and tax breaks.^[2]

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."