Charles Zhang

Charles Zhang or Zhang Chaoyang (born October 31, 1964) is a Chinese businessman, investor and the founder, chairman and current CEO of Sohu Inc (Chinese: 搜狐). Sohu Inc is listed to trade on NASDAQ and now has around 14,200 employees worldwide. Dr. Zhang is regarded as one of China's leading Internet pioneers and was named by Forbes magazine as one of the richest men in China in 2010. Early life and education Charles Zhang was born in Xi'an, China. His parents were residential physicians at a small arsenal near Xi'an. His ancestors were from Henan. Zhang had been interested in science from a very young age. He studied at the Xi'an Qinghua middle school (西安庆华中学) and transferred to the Xi'an Middle School of Shaanxi Province. He excelled at school. Zhang was accepted to study physics at the prestigious Tsinghua University in Beijing and graduated in 1986. He then received a full CUSPEA scholarship to attend graduate school at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States.