Leo Koguan

American businessman (born 1955)

In this Chinese name, the family name is  Leo.

Leo KoGuan

Born| 1955 (age 69-70)[1]

Indonesia

Education| Columbia University
New York Law School
Known for| Chairman and co-founder, SHI International
Spouse|

Thai Lee

(m. 1989; div. 2002)​

Children| 1
Leo Koguan

Traditional Chinese| 廖凱原
Simplified Chinese| 廖凯原
| Transcriptions

Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin| Liào Kǎiyuán
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutping| Liu6 Hoi2-jyun4
Southern Min
Hokkien POJ| Liāu Khái-guân
Teochew Peng'im| Liou7 Kai2-nguêng5

Leo Koguan (born 1955) is an Indonesian-born Chinese American businessman, investor, and philanthropist.[2] He is the chairman and co-founder of SHI International Corp and was the third-largest individual shareholder in Tesla, Inc.[3][4]

## Biography

[edit]

Leo was born in Indonesia in 1955 to Chinese parents. He then moved to the United States and graduated from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs and New York Law School.[1][5]

Leo co-founded SHI International Corp., an enterprise software company headquartered in Somerset, New Jersey with his ex-wife Thai Lee.[6] He also invested in luxury hotel development in Shanghai's Xintiandi district through his shares in Shui On Land.[2]

Leo is known in Mainland China for his philanthropic activities to a number of top universities. In 2008, Leo donated $30 million to Shanghai Jiao Tong University, which renamed its law school after Leo.[7] He also donated $28 million to Peking University, which named one of its law school buildings after Leo.[8] He endowed scholarships at Peking University and was named an honorary trustee.[9][10] He was a donor to Tsinghua University, which named the new Tsinghua University Law Library after Leo. He also made a $12.5 million donation to Fudan University, which named its law building after him.[11]

Initially a retail investor, Leo picked up stock trading in 2019 and amassed a fortune through his position in Tesla.[12] He was the company's third largest individual shareholder, behind Elon Musk and Larry Ellison,[13] until December 2024 when Leo began reducing Tesla shares.[14]

## Personal life

[edit]

In 1989, Leo Koguan married Thai Lee, who is now the President and CEO of SHI International.[15] They divorced in 2002. Leo lives in Singapore.[1] In October 2020, he paid S$62M for Singapore's largest penthouse, Guoco Tower's Wallich Residence, from British inventor and billionaire entrepreneur Sir James Dyson.[16]

As of May 2024, Leo has a net worth of $6 billion, according to Forbes.[17]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c Melin, Anders (October 29, 2021). "Tesla's Hidden Billionaire: How a Retail Trader Made $7 Billion". Bloomberg. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
2. ^ a b Areddy, James T. (2009-04-30). "Shanghai Eyes Buyout of Stalled Project". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
3. ^ "Is Elon Musk fan Leo Koguan really Tesla's third-biggest shareholder?". South China Morning Post. 2021-11-09. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
4. ^ "Bloomberg Billionaires Index". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
5. ^ "Leo KoGuan（廖凯原）_Peking University Law School". en.law.pku.edu.cn. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
6. ^ "The Hundred-Year Plan | 2016: Winter | Amherst College". www.amherst.edu. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
7. ^ "KOGUAN SCHOOL OF LAW，SHANGHAI JIAO TONG UNIVERSITY". en.law.sjtu.edu.cn. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
8. ^ "Leo KoGuan Building of PKU Law School Inaugurated". newsen.pku.edu.cn. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
9. ^ Liao, Sharon (2019-11-21). "Prof. Leo KoGuan Visits Peking University and Meets with Leo KoGuan Scholarship Recipients". Peking University Education Foundation (USA). Retrieved 2022-03-27.
10. ^ "Honorary Trustee Leo KoGuan speaks at PKU". newsen.pku.edu.cn. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
11. ^ "Warm Welcome to the New Students of the Chinese Business Law Program". law.fudan.edu.cn. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
12. ^ Hyatt, John. "Elon Musk's "Fanboy" Bet Nearly Everything On Tesla—And Made Billions". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
13. ^ Fox, Matthew. "A retail investor amassed a $7 billion stake in Tesla stock after the EV maker nearly wiped him out". Markets Insider. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
14. ^ Meli, Anders (December 3, 2024). "Billionaire Tesla Whale Is Reducing Bet That Made Him Rich". Bloomberg. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
15. ^ Ohnsman, Alan (2024-05-15). "Tesla's Top Retail Investor Votes Against Restoring Elon Musk's $50 Billion Pay Package". Forbes.
16. ^ "British billionaire Dyson sells Singapore's priciest penthouse". Reuters. 2020-10-19. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
17. ^ "Leo Koguan". Forbes. Retrieved 6 May 2024.

*[m.]: married
*[div.]: divorced