Chinese businessman William Ding has an estimated net worth of $15.5 billion in May 2019.

Also known as Ding Lei, his Chinese name, William Ding was born in October 1971 in Fenghua, Ningbo, Zhejiang Province. He obtained his bachelor's degree from Chengdu College of Electronic Science and Technology which is now known as the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China.

After working for the local government as engineer, William Ding moved to Guangzhou where he started working for Sybase. In 2003, he became the founder of NetEase which made him as one of the wealthiest persons in Mainland China. In addition to being the founder, Ding currently owns 45% of NetEase. Recently, there has been a significant rise in the revenue level of the company, thanks to the successful launch of several online games in China which include World of Warcraft, Heroes of Tang Dynasty II, Soul of the Fighter  and Kung Fu Master.