Yu Minhong

Who is Yu Minhong?

Yu Minhong, or Michael Yu is the founder and current CEO of New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc., and a member of the central committee of China Democratic League. Yu Minhong is considered one of the twenty-five people that has had the greatest impact on China in the twentieth century. As the owner of one of the largest private educational services, Yu is known as the "richest teacher in China", and "Godfather of English Training".

Born in the rural area of China, Yu's family was poor. His father's innovation and determination inspired Yu to consistently pursue his dream. Yu overcame many obstacles in his life, including childhood poverty, two failures of the university qualification exam, one-year delay of sickness in university, and several refusals of oversea studying visas. Although Yu did not have a chance to study abroad and fulfill his American Dream, he made up his mind to become an English teacher and help Chinese students learning English so that they could follow theirs.

In 1993, Yu founded New Oriental Education and Technology Group. Although the first year started with a class of only 30 students, New Oriental has grown to become China's largest private education service provider. Approximately 70% of Chinese students who are studying in the United States and Canada now have taken English classes in New Oriental. In addition, the online education section, which was developed in year 2003, has attracted more than 2 million registered users. New Oriental was the first private education company in China that listed on the New York Stock Exchange.