Co-founder and former CAO ofTencent Founder of Wuhan College Founder of the Chen Yidan Charity Foundation Founder of the Yidan Prize Foundation
Chen Yidan (陈一丹, born 1971), also known asCharles Chen, is a Chinese internet entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is a co-founder ofTencent, founder of the Chen Yidan Charity Foundation, and founder of theYidan Prize Foundation.
In March 2013, Yidan stepped down as Tencent's CAO.[10] He continued to be involved with the company as an advisor, sponsor, and honorary chairman of the Tencent Charity Foundation.[11][12][10]
In 2009, Yidan cofounded Wuhan College and became a school initiator.[14][15] In 2015, Yidan donated RMB20 million to support the college's library construction and reading material purchases.[2][16]
In May 2016, Chen founded theYidan Prize, funded by an independent trust of HK $2.5 billion (US$320 million). The award was established to recognize innovators and those who had made contributions to education.[17][18][6][19] The Prize included two annual awards, the Yidan Prize for Education Development and the Yidan Prize for Education Research.[17] Each prize included a cash award of HK $15 million as well as a project fund of HK $15 million.[17][2]
In 2015 Yidan was named to the China Philanthropy Institute's list of top Chinese philanthropists.[20] In 2016, he appeared on the China Charity Ranking List as well.[21] In June 2017, he was named one of China's top philanthropists byForbes.[22]
