Eric Yuan
Eric S Yuan | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 20, 1970 Tai'an, Shandong Province, China |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, engineer |
| Known for | Founder and CEO of Zoom Communications |
| Notable work | Zoom video communication platform |
Eric S Yuan (; born February 20, 1970) is a Chinese-American entrepreneur, engineer, and billionaire who founded and currently leads Zoom Communications, where he owns a 22% equity share. Under his guidance, Zoom has emerged as a dominant video communication service, with India ranking as its second-largest market following the United States.
Early life and education
Born and brought up in Tai'an, located in China's Shandong Province, Yuan is the son of geological engineers. During his fourth-grade year, he earned money by repurposing leftover construction materials.
In 1987, while a freshman at university, Yuan conceived the idea of creating videotelephony software during lengthy train journeys to visit his girlfriend. He obtained a bachelor's degree in applied mathematics with a minor in computer application from Shandong University of Science and Technology, followed by a master's degree in geology engineering from China University of Mining and Technology in Beijing. Additionally, Yuan completed an executive education program at Stanford University in 2006.
Career
Following completion of his master's studies, Yuan resided in Beijing and participated in a four-month training course in Japan. Motivated by Bill Gates' 1995 address in Japan, Yuan relocated to Silicon Valley in 1997 to engage with the burgeoning technology sector. At that time, his English proficiency was limited, and he applied nine times before successfully obtaining a U.S. visa.
Upon arrival in the United States, Yuan joined WebEx—a startup specializing in web conferencing—as one of its initial twenty employees. After Cisco Systems acquired WebEx in 2007, Yuan advanced to the role of vice president of engineering. In 2011, he proposed to Cisco leadership a video conferencing solution optimized for smartphones; after the proposal was declined, he departed to establish Zoom Communications.
Zoom went public through an initial public offering in 2019, elevating Yuan to billionaire status. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the platform's critical role in facilitating remote work and education caused his net worth to soar. By September 2020, his estimated fortune reached $16.4 billion—a 360% increase compared to the beginning of that year. In March 2021, Yuan transferred Zoom shares valued at $6 billion into a grantor retained annuity trust, where he serves as trustee.
Personal life
Yuan wed his girlfriend Sherry at age 22 while pursuing his master's degree at China University of Mining and Technology in Beijing. The couple has three children, including Roy Yuan, who competes on the Stanford basketball team and operates a YouTube channel boasting over 40,000 subscribers. The family resides in Santa Clara, California. Yuan became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 2007. He adopted the middle initial "S" as a tribute to Subrah Iyar, cofounder of WebEx.
Recognition
In 2020, Yuan was honored as Time Businessperson of the Year and included among the Time 100 Most Influential People. That same year, he received the Great Immigrants Award from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.