Zhang Xin
Zhang Xin is a Chinese real estate entrepreneur and film financier. She co-founded SOHO China with her husband Pan Shiyi in 1995 and served as its chief executive until September 2022, remaining an executive director. She founded the New York property company Closer Properties in 2008 and the film production and financing company Closer MediaCloser MediaCloser Media is a New York-based film production and financing company founded in 2021 by Zhang Xin, a co-founder of SOHO China, with offices in New York and Los Angeles. It has financed or produced films including Ezra, The Monk and the Gun and The History of Sound, as well as Alex Gibney’s documentary Musk, and invested in the streaming service MUBI in December 2024.Open the full entry in 2021, and is one of the producers of the documentary Musk.
Contents14 sections
Key facts
1965–1995Early Years
Born in Beijing in 1965, Zhang Xin moved to Hong Kong at 14, worked in a factory for five years and left for Britain at 19.[1]
As a child she was sent with her mother to work in the countryside; she later studied on grants and scholarships and married the property developer Pan Shiyi.[2]
After a master’s degree in development economics at Cambridge she worked for Goldman SachsGoldman SachsGoldman Sachs is an American financial services group headquartered in New York whose businesses include investment banking, securities trading, asset management, and wealth management. It traces its origins to the commercial paper business Marcus Goldman founded in 1869; it listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1999 under the ticker GS and became a bank holding company in 2008. David Solomon serves as chairman and chief executive officer.Open the full entry in London.[3]
1995Co-founding SOHO China
In 1995 she returned to Beijing and co-founded SOHO China with Pan Shiyi.[1]
2002Venice Architecture Biennale Prize
In 2002 her Commune by the Great Wall won a Venice Architecture Biennale special prize.[1]
2003–2007SOHO China’s Hong Kong Listing
After a failed attempt in 2003, SOHO China’s 2007 Hong Kong IPO raised $1.9 billion.[2]
2005–2014SOHO China Foundation and Scholarships
In 2005 she and her husband set up the SOHO China Foundation, and in 2014 they launched the $100 million SOHO China Scholarships.[4]
The scholarships they sponsored for Chinese students at HarvardHarvard UniversityHarvard University is a private research university in Massachusetts, established by the Massachusetts Bay Colony legislature in 1636 and named in 1639 for early benefactor John Harvard. Its principal campuses are in Cambridge and the Allston and Longwood neighborhoods of Boston. It includes Harvard College, graduate and professional schools, and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. Two governing boards share oversight. Alan M. Garber was president as of October 2026, and the endowment stood at $56.9 billion at the end of fiscal 2025.Open the full entry and YaleYale UniversityYale University is a research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Its predecessor, the Collegiate School, received a charter in 1701. Trustees chose New Haven in 1716; the institution became Yale College in 1718 and Yale University in 1887. Yale provides undergraduate, graduate and professional education and has 14 undergraduate residential colleges. As of October 2026, its president was Maurie McInnis, who took office in July 2024. In 2026, Yale expanded aid for incoming undergraduates and celebrated its 325th anniversary.Open the full entry from 2014 drew criticism in China.[3]
2008–2017New York Property Investments
In 2008 she founded the New York property company Closer Properties.[5]
In 2011 the couple bought 49% of Park Avenue Plaza in New York; most of SOHO China’s payouts to them came in 2015–2017 and funded U.S. property deals.[3]
2021Founding Closer Media
In 2021 she founded Closer Media, a film production and financing company.[5]
June–September 2021: Blackstone Offer Lapses
In June 2021 BlackstoneBlackstoneBlackstone is an alternative asset manager serving institutional and individual investors. Its official website states that its assets under management exceeded $1.3 trillion as of June 30, 2026.Open the full entry offered HK$5 a share for 54.93% of SOHO China, a deal of about $3 billion under which the couple would have left the board and cut their stake from 63.93% to 9%. In September SOHO China said progress on the preconditions was insufficient and the deadline would not be extended; on September 13 its shares fell as much as 40%.[6]
September 7, 2022Stepping Down as SOHO China CEO
On September 7, 2022, SOHO China announced that Zhang Xin had resigned as chief executive and Pan Shiyi as chairman to focus on supporting the arts and philanthropy. Both remained executive directors, and Xu Jin and Qian Ting became co-CEOs.[7]
December 2024Investment in MUBI and Board Seat
In December 2024 Zhang Xin invested in the arthouse distributor and streamer MUBI through Closer Media and joined its board.[8]
January 2026Remarks on U.S. Real Estate
In January 2026 she appeared on BloombergBloomberg L.P.Bloomberg L.P. is a global financial technology, data and media company founded by Michael Bloomberg in 1981. It began by providing terminal services that deliver data, analytics and news to financial professionals, and launched Bloomberg News in 1990. Michael Bloomberg has pledged the vast majority of the company’s profits to his philanthropic organization, Bloomberg Philanthropies.Open the full entry as founder and CEO of Closer Properties and former CEO and current executive director of SOHO China, discussing U.S. real estate opportunities and building luxury Manhattan condominiums.[9]
2026The Documentary Musk
The documentary Musk was selected for the 2026 Venice Film Festival.[10]
Zhang Xin is one of its producers.[11]
Affiliations: Boards and Advisory Roles
Zhang Xin is a trustee of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and a member of the Harvard Global Advisory Council.[4]
Sources
- Board of Directors and Senior Management (opens in a new window)
- From factory worker to real estate billionaire: SOHO China's Zhang Xin (opens in a new window)
- NYC Becomes One Billionaire Family’s Haven from China Property Crash (opens in a new window)
- Zhang Xin | World Economic Forum (opens in a new window)
- Xin Zhang (opens in a new window)
- Soho China’s Shares Plummet After Blackstone Abandons $3 Billion Takeover (opens in a new window)
- MANAGEMENT AND BOARD CHANGES (opens in a new window)
- Chinese Billionaire Zhang Xin Invests in Mubi, Joins Board to Support Global Streaming and Film Ventures (opens in a new window)
- Soho China Founder: Invested in US to Diversify from China (opens in a new window)
- Biennale Cinema 2026 | Musk (opens in a new window)
- Alex Gibney’s ‘Musk’ Documentary Gets Theatrical Release From Bleecker Street (opens in a new window)