Neil Shen

Born 1967 · Age 58

Chinese billionaire venture capitalist; founding & managing partner of HongShan (formerly Sequoia China). Co‑founder of Ctrip.com and Home Inn; leading early‑stage investor in China.

Total Events

Career Span

58 years

Peak Net Worth

$3,900,000,000

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Life & Career Timeline

1967Age 0

Born in Haining, Zhejiang, China

Born in Haining, Jiaxing, Zhejiang province. Grew up in Shanghai.

12/16/1967Source

Confidence

98%

1980Age 13

Attended Shanghai No. 2 High School (math prodigy)

Grew up in Shanghai and attended Shanghai No.2 High School, where he was noted as a math prodigy.

1/1/1980Source

Confidence

75%

1989Age 22

Graduated Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Received a bachelor's degree in applied mathematics from Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

1/1/1989Source

Confidence

98%

1992Age 25

Graduated Yale School of Management

Earned a master's degree in management from Yale School of Management.

1/1/1992Source

Confidence

98%

1992Age 25

Joined Citibank (U.S.)

After Yale, began working at Citibank in the United States.

1/1/1992Source

Confidence

90%

1994Age 27

Left Citibank and moved to Hong Kong to join Lehman Brothers

Moved to Hong Kong in 1994 to work as an investment banker at Lehman Brothers.

1/1/1994Source

Confidence

95%

1996Age 29

Joined Deutsche Bank as Director, China Capital Markets

Appointed director of China capital markets at Deutsche Bank.

1/1/1996Source

Confidence

95%

1999Age 32

Co‑founded Ctrip.com

Co‑founded online travel company Ctrip.com with James Liang, Min Fan and Qi Ji (June 1999).

6/1/1999Source

Confidence

99%

2002Age 35

Co‑founded Home Inn (joint venture)

Co‑founded economy hotel chain Home Inn as a joint venture between Ctrip and Beijing Tourism Group.

1/1/2002Source

Confidence

95%

2003Age 36

Became President of Ctrip

Took on the role of President of Ctrip (served as president starting August 2003).

8/1/2003Source

Confidence

95%

2003Age 36

Ctrip IPO on NASDAQ

Oversaw Ctrip's initial public offering on the NASDAQ in December 2003.

12/1/2003Source

Confidence

98%

2005Age 38

Led Sequoia China's early investment program (portfolio began)

Under Shen's leadership Sequoia China went on to invest in major Chinese tech companies including Alibaba, ByteDance, Meituan, JD.com, Pinduoduo, Qihoo 360, DJI and Vipshop (portfolio built after founding in 2005).

1/1/2005Source

Confidence

95%

2005Age 38

Co‑founded Sequoia China (later Sequoia China / HongShan)

Co‑founded Sequoia Capital China with Zhang Fan under the guidance of Michael Moritz and Douglas Leone; given full autonomy to run the China arm.

1/1/2005Source

Confidence

99%

2005Age 38

Stepped down as Ctrip President

Ended tenure as Ctrip president in October 2005.

10/1/2005Source

Confidence

95%

2006Age 39

Home Inn IPO on NASDAQ (spun off from Ctrip)

Home Inn, spun off from Ctrip, pursued an IPO on NASDAQ in 2006; reports at the time cited a roughly US$80M offering plan.

1/1/2006Source

Confidence

70%

2007Age 40

Established Hainan mansion and investor hosting

Reported to own a mansion in Hainan used to host and entertain investors (reported by media in mid‑2000s).

1/1/2007Source

Confidence

60%

2010Age 43

Became prominent private investor and board member across portfolio companies

By the 2010s Shen had become a prominent board member/advisor for many portfolio companies (general career milestone across decade).

1/1/2010Source

Confidence

75%

2015Age 48

Profiled in Financial Times 'Lunch with the FT'

Featured in an in‑depth Financial Times profile (August 2015), an indicator of rising public profile and influence.

1/1/2015Source

Confidence

90%

2018Age 51

Ranked No.1 on Forbes Midas List

Ranked first on Forbes' global Midas List of top venture capitalists (2018).

1/1/2018Source

Confidence

98%

2018Age 51

Elected to 13th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference

Elected as a member of the 13th CPPCC (national political advisory body) in January 2018.

1/1/2018Source

Confidence

95%

2019Age 52

Mentioned as connecting U.S. and China through philanthropic giving

Profiled in Forbes coverage (2017/2019) highlighting philanthropic activity connecting U.S. and China.

1/1/2019Source

Confidence

80%

2019Age 52

Ranked No.1 on Forbes Midas List (again)

Topped Forbes' Midas List for a second consecutive year (2019).

1/1/2019Source

Confidence

98%

2020Age 53

Ranked No.1 on Forbes Midas List (third consecutive year)

Topped Forbes' Midas List in 2020 for the third consecutive year.

1/1/2020Source

Confidence

98%

2020Age 53

Philanthropy & U.S. medical donations

Sequoia Capital China donated medical supplies to U.S. hospitals under Shen's founding partner role (reported April 2020).

1/1/2020Source

Confidence

85%

2020Age 53

Resigned board role at Qihoo 360

Reportedly quit a board role at Qihoo 360 in June 2020 (and related board change noted alongside SoftBank Vision Fund partner).

6/1/2020Source

Confidence

85%

2022Age 55

Douglas Leone retired as Sequoia managing partner (context)

Douglas Leone retired from Sequoia Capital in 2022; Neil Shen was considered a potential successor at the time.

1/1/2022Source

Confidence

90%

2022Age 55

Forbes estimated net worth at US$3.6 billion

Forbes reported Neil Shen's net worth as approximately US$3.6 billion (December 2022).

12/1/2022Net Worth: $3,600,000,000Source

Confidence

98%

2023Age 56

Ranked No.1 on Forbes Midas List (2023)

Topped Forbes' Midas List again in 2023, reaffirming position among the world's top venture investors.