Weijian Shan (; born 1954) is an economist, businessman, and author based in Hong Kong. Shan is the Executive Chairman of PAG, a leading alternative investment firm focused on the Asia Pacific region. Shan currently serves as a Trustee of

The British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It documen ...

and as an independent director of Alibaba Group. Shan authored Out of the Gobi: My Story of China and America (2019), a memoir recounting his experience during the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...

. He also published Money Games: The Inside Story of How American Dealmakers Saved Korea’s Most Iconic Bank (2021) and Money Machine: A Trailblazing American Venture in China (2023).

Biography

Born in 1954 and raised in Beijing, Shan grew up in the midst of the

. In 1969, when

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...

closed all universities and dispatched youngsters to the countryside, Shan was sent to

Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a ...

where he would spend 6 years in th
Gobi Desert
He returned to Beijing in 1975 and enrolled at the

Beijing Institute of Foreign Trade The University of International Business and Economics (UIBE; abbr. 贸大, ''Mào Dà''), is a public university, public research university specialized in undergraduate and graduate education in economics, finance, international business, ma ...

(now University of International Business and Economics) where he would study English. Shan later moved to the United States as part of the first cohort of mainland Chinese students studying abroad after the Cultural Revolution. He earned an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

from the

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a private Jesuit university in San Francisco, California. The university's main campus is located on a setting between the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park. The main campus is nicknamed "The Hil ...

before continuing his studies at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

where he would earn a M.A. and PhD. In 1987, Shan joined the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

Washington DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

as an investment officer. He taught as an

assistant professor Assistant Professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States and Canada. Overview This position is generally taken after earning a doctoral degree and general ...

at the

Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a Private university, private Ivy League rese ...

for 6 years, where he founded the

China Economic Review ::''There is also an academic journal sharing the same name: China Economic Review (journal)'' ''China Economic Review'' (, Pinyin: Zhōngguó Jīngjì Pínglùn; also referred to as CER) is an English-language quarterly (formerly monthly) busin ...

. Shan held various positions at

J.P. Morgan JP may refer to: Arts and media * ''JP'' (album), 2001, by American singer Jesse Powell * ''Jp'' (magazine), an American Jeep magazine * ''Jönköpings-Posten'', a Swedish newspaper * Judas Priest, an English heavy metal band * ''Jurassic Park ...

between 1993 and 1998, eventually rising to become a Managing Director. Shortly thereafter, he became a co-managing partner at

Newbridge Capital TPG Inc., previously known as Texas Pacific Group and TPG Capital, is an American investment company based in Fort Worth, Texas. The private equity firm is focused on leveraged buyouts and growth capital. TPG manages investment funds in growth c ...

, later renamed TPG Asia, and a partner of TPG. Shan is a member of the Board of Trustees of

and an

independent director An independent director (also sometimes known as an outside director) is a member of a board of directors who does not have a material or pecuniary relationship with company or related persons, except sitting fees. In the United States, indepe ...

of the Alibaba Group. Shan is a frequent contributor to journals and newspapers. His commentaries have been featured prominently in the New York Times, the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, Foreign Affairs and others. His memoir, Out of the Gobi: My Story of China and America, was published by

Wiley Wiley may refer to: Locations * Wiley, Colorado, a U.S. town *Wiley, Pleasants County, West Virginia, U.S. * Wiley-Kaserne, a district of the city of Neu-Ulm, Germany People * Wiley (musician), British grime MC, rapper, and producer * Wiley Mill ...

in January 2019 and became a national bestseller in February 2019. Shan is also the author o
Money Games: The Inside Story of How American Dealmakers Saved Korea’s Most Iconic Bank (2021)
an
Money Machine: A Trailblazing American Venture in China (2023).

Books Authored

* Out of the Gobi: My Story of China and America
Money Games: The Inside Story of How American Dealmakers Saved Korea’s Most Iconic Bank

Money Machine: A Trailblazing American Venture in China

Other publications

References

External links

*
Weijian Shan at Bloomberg.com

bookdepository.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shan, Weijian 1954 births Living people Economists from Beijing Chinese venture capitalists Business and financial journalists Hong Kong chief executives University of San Francisco alumni University of California, Berkeley alumni Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania faculty Writers from Beijing Businesspeople from Beijing Educators from Beijing