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Eric Yuan

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Eric Yuan
袁征
Yuan in 2025
Born (1970-02-20) 20 February 1970 (age 56)[1]
Tai'an, Shandong, China
CitizenshipUnited States[2]
EducationShandong University of Science and Technology (BS)
China University of Mining and Technology (MS)
OccupationBusinessman
TitleFounder and CEO, Zoom Communications
SpouseSherry (m. 1991 or 1992)[3][4]
Children3[4]
Chinese name
Chinese袁征
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinYuán Zhēng

Eric S Yuan[5] (Chinese: 袁征; pinyin: Yuán Zhēng; born 20 February 1970) is a Chinese-American billionaire businessman, engineer, and the chief executive officer and founder of Zoom Communications, of which he owns 22%.[6][7]

Early life and education

[edit]

Yuan is the son of geological engineers.[8] He was born and raised in Tai'an, Shandong Province, China.[9][10] In the fourth grade, Yuan collected construction scraps to recycle copper for cash.[9]

As a first-year university student in 1987, Yuan was inspired to develop videotelephony software while he took 10-hour train rides to visit his girlfriend and was looking for an easier way to "visit" her.[11][10] Yuan earned a bachelor's degree in applied mathematics with a minor in computer application from Shandong University of Science and Technology,[12] and a master's degree in geology engineering from China University of Mining and Technology in Beijing.[13][14] Yuan completed a Stanford University executive program in 2006.[9][15][16]

Career

[edit]

After earning his master's degree, Yuan lived in Beijing,[17] and attended a training program in Japan for four months.[14] Inspired by Bill Gates, who spoke in Japan in 1995, Yuan moved to Silicon Valley in 1997 to join the tech boom.[11][18] At the time, Yuan spoke very little English, and applied nine times before being granted a visa to the United States.[10][19]

Upon arriving in the U.S., Yuan joined WebEx, a web conferencing startup, where he was one of the first 20 hires.[9][8] The company was acquired by Cisco Systems in 2007, at which time Yuan became vice president of engineering.[10] In 2011, he pitched a new smartphone-friendly video conferencing system to Cisco management.[20] When the idea was rejected, Yuan left Cisco to establish his own company, Zoom Communications.[10]

In 2019, Zoom became a public company via an initial public offering,[21] at which time Yuan became a billionaire.[9][2] His wealth increased during COVID-19 pandemic, as Zoom benefited from the shift to online work and teaching.[22] On 1 September 2020, Yuan's net worth was estimated to be US$16.4 billion, a figure 360% higher than his net worth at the beginning of the year.[23] In March 2021, Yuan transferred $6 billion worth of Zoom shares to a grantor retained annuity trust, for which Yuan is a trustee.[24]

In 2024, he announced plans to let people skip Zoom meetings by having AI clones replace them.[25]

Personal life

[edit]

Yuan married his girlfriend, Sherry, at the age of 22, while he was a master's student at China University of Mining and Technology in Beijing.[9] They have three children. Yuan and his family live in Santa Clara, California.[2] In 2007, Yuan became a naturalized United States citizen.[26]

Yuan chose the middle name "S" after Subrah Iyar, cofounder of WebEx.[5]

Recognition

[edit]

Yuan was named the 2020 Time Businessperson of the Year,[27] and was included in the Time 100 Most Influential People of 2020.[28] In 2020, Yuan was named by Carnegie Corporation of New York as an honoree of the Great Immigrants Awards[29][30] In 2025, Yuan was elected to the National Academy of Engineering.[31]

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ "Bloomberg Billionaires Index: Eric Yuan". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 20 August 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 "Forbes profile: Eric Yuan & family". Forbes. Archived from the original on 23 June 2020. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  3. ↑ Konrad, Alex. "Zoom, Zoom, Zoom! The Exclusive Inside Story Of The New Billionaire Behind Tech's Hottest IPO". Forbes. Archived from the original on 8 July 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2022. At Shandong University of Science & Technology, Yuan studied applied mathematics and computer science and then, at age 22, got married while pursuing his Master's degree.
  4. 1 2 "Eric Yuan, Founder & CEO of Zoom". The CEO Magazine. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  5. 1 2 FE Bureau (8 August 2020). "India is Zoom's second-largest market after US: CEO Eric Yuan". www.financialexpress.com.
  6. ↑ Pendleton, Devon (21 March 2020). "The rise of social distancing during coronavirus pandemic pushes Zoom founder's net worth up by $2 billion in 2020". www.fortune.com. Archived from the original on 28 July 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  7. ↑ Francis, Theo (8 March 2021). "Zoom CEO Eric Yuan Transfers $6 Billion Worth of His Shares". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on 9 March 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  8. 1 2 Sarlin, Jon (22 May 2020). "Everyone you know uses Zoom. That wasn't the plan". CNN. Archived from the original on 11 July 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Konrad, Alex (31 May 2019). "Zoom, Zoom, Zoom! The Exclusive Inside Story Of The New Billionaire Behind Tech's Hottest IPO". Forbes. Archived from the original on 8 July 2020. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Weiner, Yitzi (2 October 2017). "The Inspiring Backstory of Eric S. Yuan, Founder and CEO of Zoom". Medium. Archived from the original on 23 April 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  11. 1 2 Huddleston Jr., Tom (18 April 2019). "A Bill Gates speech inspired Zoom founder to start an internet business—now he's a billionaire". CNBC. Archived from the original on 10 December 2020. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  12. ↑ Rogers, Bruce (24 April 2017). "Eric Yuan Builds Cloud Conferencing Company Zoom To Create Satisfied Customers". Forbes. Archived from the original on 15 July 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  13. ↑ Waters, Richard (5 June 2020). "Eric Yuan, a tech boss riding a geopolitical storm". Financial Times. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  14. 1 2 "2020 Great Immigrants Recipient: Eric Yuan". Carnegie.org. Archived from the original on 8 July 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  15. ↑ Stone, Brett (29 March 2020). "A Biography of Eric Yuan, Founder and CEO of Zoom". Medium. Archived from the original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  16. ↑ "Lunar New Year Social Mixer with Eric Yuan, CEO/Zoom". Stanford.edu. Archived from the original on 22 March 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  17. ↑ High, Peter (6 March 2017). "Zoom CEO's Promise To His Wife Helped Inspire A $1B Company". Forbes. Archived from the original on 14 July 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  18. ↑ "Zoom's Blank Check: What To Do When You Have An Expensive Stock And No Moats". Seeking Alpha. 14 September 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  19. ↑ Levy, Ari (19 April 2020). "Zoom's CEO emigrated from China 22 years ago and spoke little English — now he's worth almost $3 billion". CNBC. Archived from the original on 7 August 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  20. ↑ Rogers, Taylor Nicole (1 April 2020). "Meet Eric Yuan, the founder and CEO of Zoom, who has made nearly $4 billion in 3 months as usage of his video conferencing software skyrockets amid the coronavirus pandemic". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  21. ↑ Griffith, Erin (18 April 2019). "I.P.O. Day for Pinterest and Zoom Ends With Shares Sharply Higher". New York Times. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  22. ↑ Grant, Nico (31 August 2020). "Zoom CEO's Wealth Jumps $5.2 Billion After Sales Crush Estimates". www.bloomberg.com.
  23. ↑ Rogers, Taylor Nicole (2 September 2020). "Zoom billionaire Eric Yuan made $5 billion in one day as the videoconference company reports record earnings". Business Insider Australia. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  24. ↑ "Zoom Founder Eric Yuan Transfers $6 Billion Worth of Shares".
  25. ↑ Patel, Nilay (3 June 2024). "Zoom CEO Eric Yuan wants AI clones in meetings". The Verge.
  26. ↑ Yuan, Eric (4 May 2020). "Navigating a New Chapter for Zoom". Zoom Blog. Archived from the original on 28 July 2020. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  27. ↑ Chow, Andrew. "Businessperson of the Year: Eric Yuan". Time. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  28. ↑ "Eric Yuan: The 100 Most Influential People of 2020". Time. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  29. ↑ "Eric Yuan". Carnegie Corporation of New York. Archived from the original on 8 July 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  30. ↑ "Dr Kamlesh Lulla gets Carnegie Foundation's "Great Immigrant: Great American" Award". india-herald.com. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  31. ↑ "National Academy of Engineering Elects 128 Members and 22 International Members". NAE Website. Retrieved 24 September 2025.
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