The married billionaire couple behind one of America's most successful brands
For more than four decades, Panda Express has been bringing its distinctive take on Chinese-American food to diners across the United States.
From its much-loved Orange Chicken to chow mein and fried rice, the chain has grown from a single restaurant into one of America's biggest fast food businesses.
Behind that success are husband-and-wife entrepreneurs Andrew and Peggy Cherng, who have been married for more than 50 years.
The billionaire couple co-founded the brand and remain at the heart of its operations.
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The pair opened the first Panda Express in 1983 at the Glendale Galleria shopping centre in California.
Andrew had already entered the restaurant business with his father, opening the Panda Inn in Pasadena in 1973.
Peggy subsequently left a career in engineering to join her husband in building their fast-food empire.
Today, Panda Express has more than 2,500 locations, with restaurants spanning the United States as well as Canada, Mexico, Dubai and South Korea. Forbes estimates the company at $6.7 billion and lists both Cherngs as billionaires.
While some critics have hit out at the 'authenticity' of their food, Andrew told TODAY: “I take no offense at all, you know, I don’t know what authenticity is because there are so many cuisines out there.”
Ultimately, he confessed, it comes down to “whatever sells, we don’t make that decision. Our guests make that decision.”
In 2022, Forbes listed their net worth at $3.2 billion, however in 2026 Peggy was listed as being worth an astonishing $6.5 billion on her own.
It was Peggy's background outside the food industry that helped give the business an unusual advantage.
Born in Myanmar, she studied mathematics and went on to earn a PhD in electrical engineering from the University of Missouri.
Before joining Panda Express, she worked for major American companies including 3M and McDonnell Douglas, where she helped develop battlefield simulators for the US Navy.
When she joined Andrew in the restaurant business, Peggy brought her experience and her analytical way of thinking with her.
She developed sales and analytics systems that allowed Panda Express to monitor its operations and better understand what customers wanted.
The strategy helped the company expand while maintaining tight control over its operations.
Most notably, Panda Express was built without venture capital, and Forbes reported that the Cherngs own the private company and that most of its restaurants are company-owned, rather than operated by franchisees.
For food lovers, however, the most intriguing part of the story may be how deliberately the Cherngs developed Panda Express's particular style of Chinese-American cooking.
Rather than attempting to replicate traditional Chinese restaurants, the brand created dishes designed for the American fast-food market and their customer's palate.
Their top selling item is their much loved orange chicken.
Panda Express chef Andy Kao created the dish in 1987, inspired by a citrus flavoured dish from China’s Hunan province.
The firm sold a whopping 148 million pounds of orange chicken, cementing it firmly at the top of their list of best sellers.
More than 40 years after opening their first shopping-centre restaurant opened, the Cherngs' success continues to grow.
What began as a family restaurant business has ultimately made Andrew and Peggy Cherng one of America's most successful married billionaire couples.
Jen Thomas