Zhang Jindong was born in
Tianchang,
Anhui Province in 1963. He graduated from Chinese department at
Nanjing Normal University. Zhang Jindong together with his older brother Zhang Guiping () opened a shop on Ninghai Road () corner Jiangsu Road in Nanjing, selling
air conditioning and related products in 1990. The brand Suning came from choosing one word each from Jiang-su and Ning-hai; the roads themselves were named after the city and province of the same name. Later Zhang Guiping exited the business and shifted into real estate, now known as
Suning Universal. Zhang Jindong did however, also start his own real estate company
Suning Real Estate some time later. Zhang Jindong further developed his small shop into a business group, the Suning Group, within 15 years. He also founded and co-founded
Suning Holdings Group and
Suning Appliance Group respectively, as unlisted portions of his collection of businesses, leaving
Suning.com (was known as Suning Commerce Group and other names) as the only listing company. In 2013's Hurun Report's China Rich List, Zhang was ranked No.9 with $6.4 billion. Zhang Jindong was ranked 28th in 2015 Forbes's China Rich List. The deal was approved by the
extraordinary general meeting on 28 June 2016, which after the deal, Suning Holdings Group owned 68.55% shares. In July 2021, Zhang Jindong stepped down as
chairman of
Suning.com, in which he holds the role of honorary chairman.
Forbes estimated his net worth to be around US$7.4 billion in 2021. ==Personal life==