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Person

Duan Yongping

Nationality:

Chinese
Born:

1961
Occupation(s):

Businessman & Investor

Founder and Chairman, BBK Electronics

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Duan Yongping (sometimes Anglicized as Yongping Duan) is a Chinese-American billionaire businessman and investor known for his founding of several smartphone brands in the Chinese domestic market and for several lucrative investments. He has been described as the “Chinese Warren Buffett” and the “godfather of China’s smartphone industry.” Duan funds a variety of nonprofits, universities, and advocacy groups in both China and the United States and has founded at least two U.S.-based organizations: the H&H Evergreen Foundation and the Enlight Foundation, which respectively operated $2.8 billion and $194 million in assets at the end of 2022. 1 2 3 4

Duan was described by Inside Philanthropy as a “black box billionaire” meaning that he utilizes contributions to donor-advised funds to mask the organizations that receive the vast sum of his giving in the United States, circumventing traditional requirements for private foundations to disclose their grantees. 5

Background

Duan Yongping is described as a savvy yet “reclusive” billionaire entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist. He is the founder and chairman of BBK Electronics which owns the smartphone brands Oppo, Vivo, OnePlus, and Realme that have grown to control a significant portion of the Chinese domestic market. He first made international headlines in 2006 when he paid $620,000 at a charity auction to have lunch with Warren Buffett. 6

Yongping attended Zhejiang University in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, where he majored in wireless electronics engineering and he later earned a master’s degree from Renmin University of China, formerly known as People’s University. In his first business venture, he started a company that made “cheap copycats” of videogame consoles and in 1995 he started BBK Electronics. 7

BBK Electronics grew to a large owner of Chinese smartphone brands, most notably Oppo and Vivo, which were China’s second- and third-biggest smartphone suppliers in 2018, with a combined 40 percent market share. 8

Yongping is known as reclusive and does not typically speak to the media. In 2019, it was stated that he and his family lived in Palo Alto, California. 9

Grantmaking

Duan Yongping has founded at least two U.S.-based organizations: the H&H Evergreen Foundation and the Enlight Foundation, which held $2.8 billion and $194 million in assets respectively at the end of 2022. 10 11 12 13

The Enlight Foundation was formed by Duan and his wife to “provide Chinese students with undergraduate scholarships and graduate fellowships at [Stanford] University’s School of Engineering.” 14 15 The Enlight Foundation funds many left-of-center advocacy groups including the Voter Participation Center, the Solutions Journalism Network, and CalMatters. 16 17

The H&H Evergreen Foundation is the larger of Duan Yongping’s U.S.-based foundations and is among the largest foundations in the United States in terms of assets. The foundation reported $2.5 billion in assets at the end of 2022. Inside Philanthropy reported that the foundation’s assets topped $4.2 billion at the end of 2023. The foundation was profiled by Inside Philanthropy as part of its coverage of “black box billionaires” profiling large, low-profile donors who contribute significant funds from foundations to donor-advised funds, which allow donors to conceal the final destination of their contributions. In 2022, the H&H Evergreen Foundation sent nearly $161 million to a Schwab Charitable account, accounting for 89.3% of the group’s payout that year. Disclosed recipients have included the Glide Foundation, which received $19 million in 2022, and the Monterrey Peninsula Foundation. 18 19

References

  1. Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF) H&H Evergreen Foundation. 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/465066162/202421159349101832/full
  2. “Enlight Foundation.” ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. Accessed July 27, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/201063909
  3. “The Chinese Warren Buffett” Duan Yongping’s Low-Stakes Pleasure: Riding the Reverse Gamma Squeeze Wave on NVIDIA.” MooMoo Technologies Inc. March 28, 2024. Accessed July 27, 2024. https://www.moomoo.com/community/feed/the-chinese-warren-buffett-duan-yongping-s-low-stakes-pleasure-112172709969926
  4. Tao, Li. “Meet the ‘godfather’ of China’s smartphone industry.” Tech In Asia. February 5, 2019. Accessed July 27, 2024. https://www.techinasia.com/meet-godfather-chinas-smartphone-industry
  5. Kavate, Michael. “Meet the Black Box Billionaires: Are These America’s Most Secretive Megadonors?” Inside Philanthropy. July 10, 2024. Accessed July 27, 2024. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2024/7/10/meet-the-black-box-billionaires-are-these-americas-most-secretive-mega-donors
  6. Tao, Li. “Meet the ‘godfather’ of China’s smartphone industry.” Tech In Asia. February 5, 2019. Accessed July 27, 2024. https://www.techinasia.com/meet-godfather-chinas-smartphone-industry
  7. Tao, Li. “Meet the ‘godfather’ of China’s smartphone industry.” Tech In Asia. February 5, 2019. Accessed July 27, 2024. https://www.techinasia.com/meet-godfather-chinas-smartphone-industry
  8. Tao, Li. “Meet the ‘godfather’ of China’s smartphone industry.” Tech In Asia. February 5, 2019. Accessed July 27, 2024. https://www.techinasia.com/meet-godfather-chinas-smartphone-industry
  9. Tao, Li. “Meet the ‘godfather’ of China’s smartphone industry.” Tech In Asia. February 5, 2019. Accessed July 27, 2024. https://www.techinasia.com/meet-godfather-chinas-smartphone-industry
  10. Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF) H&H Evergreen Foundation. 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/465066162/202421159349101832/full
  11. “Enlight Foundation.” ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. Accessed July 27, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/201063909
  12. “The Chinese Warren Buffett” Duan Yongping’s Low-Stakes Pleasure: Riding the Reverse Gamma Squeeze Wave on NVIDIA.” MooMoo Technologies Inc. March 28, 2024. Accessed July 27, 2024. https://www.moomoo.com/community/feed/the-chinese-warren-buffett-duan-yongping-s-low-stakes-pleasure-112172709969926
  13. Tao, Li. “Meet the ‘godfather’ of China’s smartphone industry.” Tech In Asia, February 5, 2016. https://www.techinasia.com/meet-godfather-chinas-smartphone-industry
  14. Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF). Enlight Foundation. 2018. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/201063909/201901269349100230/full
  15. Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF). Enlight Foundation. 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/201063909/202302719349100410/full
  16. Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF). Enlight Foundation. 2018. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/201063909/201901269349100230/full
  17. Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF). Enlight Foundation. 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/201063909/202302719349100410/full
  18. Kavate, Michael. “Meet the Black Box Billionaires: Are These America’s Most Secretive Megadonors?” Inside Philanthropy. July 10, 2024. Accessed July 27, 2024. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2024/7/10/meet-the-black-box-billionaires-are-these-americas-most-secretive-mega-donors
  19. Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF) H&H Evergreen Foundation. 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/465066162/202421159349101832/full
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