Cao is the chairman of Sungrow Power Supply, the world's largest manufacturer of solar inverters. The Hefei, Anhui-based company makes photovoltaic conversion equipment as well as batteries and energy storage systems. It owns the largest inverter factory worldwide and reported revenue of 77.8 billion yuan ($10.8 billion) in 2024.
The majority of Renxian's fortune is derived from his stake in Sungrow Power Supply, a solar inverter manufacturer. The Hefei, China-based company owns the world's largest inverter factory, according to the company website. It is also the biggest maker of photovoltaic inverters worldwide, according to its 2024 annual report.
He owns 31% of the company directly as well as through his wife Su Lei and a holding company, according to its 2025 third quarter report. About 3% of his shares are pledged and removed from the calculation.
The value of his cash holdings is based on an analysis of stock dividends, insider transactions, taxes and market performance.
Lu Yang, a spokesperson for the company, didn't respond to a request for comment on the net worth calculation.
Cao Renxian was born in July 1968. He became a professor at Hefei University of Technology in 1993 and taught at the school for about five years.
Upon learning of the poor availability of electricity in rural western China, he decided to set up Sungrow Power Supply Co. in 1997. His first customer was an engineer from the southern Xinjiang Railway, to whom he sold a solar power supply system for railway signalling equipment.
He expanded the company internationally in 2006 and it joined the Shenzhen stock exchange in 2011. By 2019, Sungrow had built the world's largest solar inverter factory.