Pei Zhenhua Net Worth

Founder of Tianhua and early CATL investor
BillionaireBusiness
Estimated net worth
$12.7B
Source: Forbes Real-Time Billionaires, October 20, 2026. Updated October 31, 2026.

Pei Zhenhua’s net worth over time

$1.5B: Forbes World's Billionaires List 2019 estimate, 2019$1.5B2019$2.4B: Forbes World's Billionaires List 2020 estimate, 2020$2.4B2020$7.5B: Forbes World's Billionaires List 2021 estimate, 2021$7.5B2021$12.5B: Forbes World's Billionaires List 2022 estimate, 2022$12.5B2022$8.8B: Forbes World's Billionaires List 2023 estimate, 2023$8.8B2023$5.9B: Forbes World's Billionaires List 2024 estimate, 2024$5.9B2024$9.5B: Forbes World's Billionaires List 2025 estimate, 2025$9.5B2025$14.1B: Forbes World's Billionaires List 2026 estimate, 2026$14.1B2026$12.7B: Forbes Real-Time Billionaires estimate, Oct 2026. Forbes real-time estimate$12.7BOct 2026

Only dates with a published estimate are shown. Nothing is filled in between. Tap or hover a bar to see the source.

See the numbers as a table
DateEstimateSource
2019$1.5 billionForbes World's Billionaires List 2019
2020$2.4 billionForbes World's Billionaires List 2020
2021$7.5 billionForbes World's Billionaires List 2021
2022$12.5 billionForbes World's Billionaires List 2022
2023$8.8 billionForbes World's Billionaires List 2023
2024$5.9 billionForbes World's Billionaires List 2024
2025$9.5 billionForbes World's Billionaires List 2025
2026$14.1 billionForbes World's Billionaires List 2026
Oct 2026$12.7 billionForbes Real-Time Billionaires · Forbes real-time estimate

Where the money comes from

Batteries

These are the main sources of wealth named in the reporting we cite. No published source breaks the total into exact amounts, so we do not show percentages.

Pei Zhenhua’s fortune in real-life terms

194,142 years
for the median full-time U.S. worker to earn this much, spending nothing
58,769×
the net worth of the typical U.S. family
1.4%
of Elon Musk's fortune, the biggest on Net Worth Lookup

Based on the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires estimate above. Median full-time U.S. pay is $65,416 a year ($1,258 a week, BLS, Q2 2026), before taxes. Typical (median) U.S. family net worth is $216,100 (Federal Reserve, 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances).

How do you compare to Pei Zhenhua? New

Type your yearly income and see how you stack up. It runs in your browser: nothing you type is saved or sent anywhere.

Full comparison + share card →

Pei Zhenhua has an estimated net worth of $12.7 billion, according to Forbes Real-Time Billionaires, Pei Zhenhua profile (figures as of October 20, 2026). That is up from $1.5 billion in 2019.

Pei Zhenhua is a Chinese businessman and investor, best known as an early outside investor in Contemporary Amperex Technology, or CATL, the world's largest maker of electric vehicle batteries. He was born in 1959, and Forbes describes him as self-made.

He is also the founder and chairman of Suzhou TA&A Ultra Clean Technology, a Shenzhen-listed company later renamed Tianhua New Energy. Before starting it, he worked at the Jiangsu Textile Research Institute.

His fortune is one of the clearest examples of how backing the right company early can pay off. A stake in a then-young battery maker turned him into one of China's richest people.

Pei began his career at a research institute before becoming an entrepreneur, and he built a solid manufacturing business of his own. Yet it was his decision to invest in another company that made him a billionaire many times over. Today his wealth puts him among the richest people in China, and it rises and falls with the fortunes of the electric car industry.

How Pei Zhenhua made his money

Pei founded Suzhou TA&A in 1997. The company makes cleanroom products, the supplies that high-tech manufacturers use to keep their factories free of dust and contamination. That business gave him a base in Suzhou's manufacturing scene and contacts across the tech industry.

His biggest win, however, came as an investor. He bought into CATL early, before the company became the dominant supplier of batteries to electric carmakers around the world. Forbes says his fortune comes from his holdings in CATL, whose growth carried his wealth along with it.

His own company was later renamed Tianhua New Energy.

Cleanroom products are a quiet but steady business, since chip makers and other high-tech factories depend on clean conditions to keep defects down.

Few early investors in China's tech boom have made as much from a single stake.

How Forbes has valued Pei Zhenhua

Forbes valued Pei at $1.5 billion in 2019. His figure rose to $2.4 billion in 2020, then jumped to $7.5 billion in 2021 and $12.5 billion in 2022.

It fell to $8.8 billion in 2023 and $5.9 billion in 2024, then rebounded to $9.5 billion in 2025 and $14.1 billion on the 2026 World's Billionaires List. As of October 20, 2026, the Forbes real-time billionaires tracker showed $12.7 billion.

Career and money timeline

  1. 1959

    Born in China.

  2. 1997

    Founded Suzhou TA&A Ultra Clean Technology.

  3. 2021

    Forbes valued him at $7.5 billion.

  4. 2022

    Forbes valued him at $12.5 billion.

  5. 2026

    Forbes valued him at $14.1 billion.

Pei Zhenhua net worth FAQ

What is Pei Zhenhua's net worth?

Pei Zhenhua's net worth is an estimated $12.7 billion, according to Forbes Real-Time Billionaires, Pei Zhenhua profile (October 20, 2026). It is an estimate, not an official figure.

How did Pei Zhenhua get so rich?

The main sources named in the reporting we cite are: Batteries.

Is Pei Zhenhua a billionaire?

Yes. Forbes Real-Time Billionaires estimates Pei Zhenhua is worth $12.7 billion.

How has Pei Zhenhua's net worth changed?

The earliest published estimate we track is $1.5 billion (2019, Forbes World's Billionaires List 2019). The latest is $12.7 billion (October 20, 2026).

Why is Pei Zhenhua so rich?

Forbes says his fortune comes mainly from his holdings in CATL, the electric vehicle battery maker, which he backed early.