| Pan Shiyi | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 14, 1963 Tianshui, Gansu Province, China |
| Occupation | Chairman, SOHO China |
| Website | |
| http://www.sohochina.com | |
Pan Shiyi (Chinese: 潘石屹; pinyin: Pān Shíyì; born November 14, 1963) is a wealthy businessman from Mainland China. Presently, he is the Chairman of SOHO China, the largest real estate developer in Beijing. He co-founded SOHO China with his wife Zhang Xin in 1995. The couple was described by The Times of London as 'China’s most visible and flamboyant property tycoons'. They launched Soho China Foundation which focuses on an educational strategy adapted to today’s needs.[1][2]
Mr. Pan was honored as one of the 25 most influential business leaders in China by Fortune (China) Magazine in 2005, one of the “Top Ten Influential Figures in Real Estate Industry” by sina.com in 2004 and 2006, and one of the “Top Ten Influential Figures in Real Estate Industry” by sohu.com in 2005. In 2008, Mr. Pan was named China Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young in the Real Estate category. Most he was selected as "2009 Real Estate Person of the Year" by Sina.com.
Pan Shiyi was born in a rural village in Tianshui in Gansu Province in 1963. His father was a teacher, he described his father 'is the one who has influenced me the most' and 'taught me how to live and survive in the worst environment'.[1] He graduated from the Beijing Petroleum Institute in 1982, later working at the former Ministry of Petroleum, until he decided in 1987 to venture to Shenzhen and Hainan to embark upon a career in real estate. Later, in 1992, he co-founded Beijing Vantone Co., Ltd., a leading developer now listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
He keeps a personal blog (http://blog.sina.com.cn/panshiyi), which is hosted on over ten major portals and which has received tens of millions of visits. Pan Shiyi and his wife, Zhang Xin, are members of the Bahá'í Faith since 2005.[3]