Mingtiandi

Asia real estate and outbound investment news

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter
Sign Up / Login Logout

Lost your password?
Register
Forgotten Password
Cancel

Register For This Site

A password will be e-mailed to you.

  • Capital Markets
  • Events
    • Join the Mingtiandi Proptech Forum 2021
      • Asia Proptech 2021: COVID-19 Accelerates a Trend
      • Panel Talk: Tech Adoption in Logistics Real Estate
    • Promote Your Brand with the Mingtiandi Proptech Forum 2021
    • 2021 Mingtiandi Event Calendar
    • More Events
  • MTD TV
  • People
  • Logistics
  • Asia Outbound
  • Retail
  • Design & Construction
  • Research & Policy
  • Advertise

Yale University Confirms Donation Dealings with Soho China’s Zhang Xin

2014/09/01 by Michael Cole Leave a Comment

Zhang Xin Soho China

Soho’s Zhang Xin is known nearly as much for her sense of PR as she is for her properties

Zhang Xin, the CEO of property developer Soho China, is in talks with Yale University about funding scholarships for Chinese students to attend the exclusive school. If finalised, the arrangement between Zhang’s Soho China foundation, which she controls with her husband and business partner Pan Shiyi, would be the second major gift by the flamboyant Chinese couple to an Ivy League school.

According to a report in the Yale Daily News, the US University’s Vice President for Development Joan O’Neill confirmed last week that her office has been discussing with Zhang about setting up a scholarship fund for Chinese students to attend the university. “We have been talking with them about possible support for financial aid for Chinese undergraduates at Yale,” O’Neill told the Daily News.

According to Yale’s website, the total cost of attending the university for the upcoming school year is estimated at $63,250 including room, board, and tuition.

In July this year, Zhang and Pan signed an agreement with Harvard University to donate $15 million to set up a scholarship fund for underprivileged Chinese students to attend the Massachusetts-based school. At the time, the flamboyant real estate entrepreneurs said that the gift was part of a plan to donate $100 million to help Chinese undergraduates study at top universities in the United States and United Kingdom.

Zhang and Pan Looking for a Place on the Global Stage

Zhang and Pan appear to be going through with the donation despite criticism in China about their interests to fund scholarships at some of the world’s most expensive universities, rather than at more affordable domestics schools.

Users on China’s Weibo social media platform scorched the billionaire couple for “forgetting their Chinese roots” in favor of donating to high profile foreign institutions that cater to the world’s elites.

“I only want to tell China’s entrepreneurs: think about children in China’s West,” one user posted on Weibo. “(They) don’t have enough food and have no shoes to wear in winter. For those students who study abroad, which of their families doesn’t have connections or money?”

Zhang herself is fond of referencing her own rags to riches story, which includes starting out in life working in a factory, before catapulting to billionaire status after securing an education in the UK.

In recent years Zhang has been particularly active in the US, buying a New York townhouse for $26 million, and joining with a Brazilian group to take a $1 billion stake in the GM building in Manhattan.

Related Stories

  • Hang Lung’s Ronnie Chan Gives $20M to USCHang Lung’s Ronnie Chan Gives $20M to USC
  • SOHO China Owners Give $15M for Harvard ScholarshipsSOHO China Owners Give $15M for Harvard Scholarships
  • Soho’s Pan Alarmed Over Imminent Wreck of Real Estate IndustrySoho’s Pan Alarmed Over Imminent Wreck of Real Estate Industry
  • Profits Drop 47% for Soho China as Developer Struggles with Strategy ShiftProfits Drop 47% for Soho China as Developer Struggles with Strategy Shift

Share this now

  • LinkedIn
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Email

Filed Under: Real Estate Professionals Tagged With: crebrief, Harvard, Ivy League, Pan Shiyi, SOHO China, Yale University, Zhang Xin

Proptech Registration Jumbo

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Yardi Investment Manager

Get Mingtiandi Delivered

Proptech Registration Column

Latest Stories

John Pattar KKR

KKR Announces $1.7B Final Closing for First Dedicated Asia Real Estate Fund

Mango Halts China Store Openings and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

Blackstone Buying Disney Building in Singapore’s One North for $135M

George Agethen

Ivanhoé Cambridge, PAG Launch $400M Japan Last Mile Logistics JV

Sponsored Features

CK Lau

Asia Pacific Logistics Sector: Increasingly Varied Sector Requires Multiple Approaches Sponsored Feature

COVID-19 Uncertainty Creates New Priorities for Real Estate Investors Sponsored Feature

Urban planning

Urban Placemaking with Big Data and Little People Sponsored Feature

Hines’ One Museum Place Celebrates One Year of a New Shanghai Landmark Sponsored Feature

More Sponsored Features>>

MTD-QR-Code-320

Top Stories

CapitaLand China Retail REIT Sells Wuhan Properties and More Asia Real…CapitaLand China Retail REIT Sells Wuhan Properties and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

Blackstone Buying Disney Building in Singapore’s One North for $135MBlackstone Buying Disney Building in Singapore's One North for $135M

JLL Names New Country Heads for Singapore, ThailandJLL Names New Country Heads for Singapore, Thailand

KKR Announces $1.7B Final Closing for First Dedicated Asia Real Estate FundKKR Announces $1.7B Final Closing for First Dedicated Asia Real Estate Fund


Connect with Mingtiandi

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Real Estate News

  • Capital Markets
  • Events
    • Join the Mingtiandi Proptech Forum 2021
      • Asia Proptech 2021: COVID-19 Accelerates a Trend
      • Panel Talk: Tech Adoption in Logistics Real Estate
    • Promote Your Brand with the Mingtiandi Proptech Forum 2021
    • 2021 Mingtiandi Event Calendar
    • More Events
  • MTD TV
  • People
  • Logistics
  • Asia Outbound
  • Retail
  • Design & Construction
  • Research & Policy
  • Advertise

More Mingtiandi

  • About Mingtiandi
  • Contact Mingtiandi
  • Newsletter Subscription
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy
  • Advertise
  • Join the Mingtiandi Team

We use cookies in accordance with our Privacy policy to provide the best user experience on Mingtiandi and to safeguard user data. By continuing to browse you consent to the policy. AcceptRefuse