From Jiangsu's Richest Man to Walking Away Empty-Handed, Zhang Jindong's Tragic Outcome After Investing 20 Billion in Evergrande

The story of Zhang Jindong always leaves a complex feeling in people’s hearts. A man who started from a small shop on Ninghai Road in Nanjing, managed to make Suning a king in offline retail, once shining brightly and holding the position of Jiangsu’s richest person for seven years. But who would have thought that in early spring 2026, once the Nanjing Intermediate Court’s ruling was issued, everything changed. Suning’s 38 companies completed their debt restructuring plan with liabilities of 238.73 billion yuan, and Zhang Jindong transferred all his shares free of charge, injecting personal assets into a trust, essentially leaving with nothing. This is not a plot from a novel, but a real business reality happening right before our eyes.

Looking back, Zhang Jindong had a hard childhood. He lost his mother at age seven and his father at eleven. His older brother, Zhang Guiping, twelve years his senior, took on the role of the head of the family like a father and supported him through college. In 1987, his brother quit a stable government job and started selling air conditioners, marking the beginning of Suning. Three years later, 27-year-old Zhang Jindong also left his stable job to join his brother’s business. In the early 1990s, the brothers broke through the obstacles, fighting their way out of the encirclement of Nanjing’s eight state-owned shopping malls. At that time, Suning was like a wild horse, rushing out of Nanjing to expand nationwide. By 2004, sales approached 10 billion yuan, successfully listed on the A-share market, raising 300 million yuan, and gaining immense popularity.

But markets are never a place of warmth. Huang Guangyu led Gome to confront Suning right across its headquarters, initiating the “Gome-Suning Battle.” Huang was formidable at that time—Wang Jianlin looked like a junior in front of him. Gome fought fiercely with Suning while also acquiring Yongle, Dazhong, and Sanlian, expanding its territory rapidly, threatening to leave Suning behind. At a critical moment in 2008, Huang Guangyu suddenly ran into trouble, causing Gome to fall into chaos. Zhang Jindong seized the opportunity to counterattack, quickly surpassing Gome and securing the top spot in offline retail. Those years, he was full of confidence, his wealth soared, and life seemed to be on a winning streak.

But good times didn’t last. In 2012, Liu Qiangdong launched a price war with JD.com, openly claiming that all products should be at least 10% cheaper than Suning and Gome. Suning responded, but the price war was too fierce, damaging the利益链 with distributors. The e-commerce wave surged, and Suning.com was still the third-largest player at the time, with a chance to focus on transformation. However, Zhang Jindong chose a different path—large-scale diversification into football, logistics, department stores, cultural innovation, and automobiles, venturing into over twenty industries with an investment of 70-80 billion yuan. Acquiring Carrefour China for 5 billion yuan, at a time when Carrefour was already declining, was like taking on a hot potato. Such moves made anyone think: is this a lifeline or just accelerating money burning?

By 2020, debt had become overwhelming. Zhang Jindong placed hope in Evergrande. At a dinner, he drank a toast with Xu Jiayin, promising to share fortunes, and Suning invested 20 billion yuan. But Evergrande suddenly defaulted, shares became worthless, and the 20 billion yuan was lost. This deal directly exposed Suning’s financial cracks, leading to a collapse in performance over the next few years, with cumulative losses exceeding 70 billion yuan. Suppliers came knocking for debts, bonds defaulted, lawsuits piled up, and Zhang Jindong gradually stepped back from management. His son, Zhang Kangyang, was also pursued globally for debts. Alibaba invested over 30 billion yuan, but eventually only about 4 billion remained—Ma Yun probably sighed in silence.

This story is not yet over; New Suning Group may still have a chance to turn things around. But for Zhang Jindong personally, thirty years of effort ending in zero is enough to evoke deep reflection. The business world has never lacked legends or regrets. The key is whether, after falling, one can get back up and keep moving forward. Dear readers, what do you think? How should an entrepreneur’s responsibility be measured?