Lei Jun

Lei Jun (simplified Chinese: 雷军; traditional Chinese: 雷軍; pinyin: Léi Jūn; Mandarin pronunciation: [lěi̯ tɕu̯ə́n]; born 16 December 1969) is a Chinese entrepreneur and the founder of Xiaomi Inc.

In 2014, he was named Businessman of the Year by Forbes. In July 2015, Forbes ranked Lei Jun number 87 on their list of global billionaires with a personal worth of $13.2 billion.

In June 2016, Forbes described Lei Jun's net worth as $9.8 billion.

Lei was born on 16 December 1969 in Xiantao, Hubei, China. In 1987, he graduated from Mianyang Middle School and began attending Wuhan University, where he completed all credits within two years and graduated with a BA in computer science. He also started his first company during his last year in college.

In 1992, Lei joined Kingsoft as an engineer, becoming the CEO of the company in 1998 and leading it towards IPO. On December 20, 2007, for "health reasons", he resigned as President and CEO of Kingsoft. In 2011, he rejoined Kingsoft as Chairman.

In 2000, Lei also founded Joyo.com, an online bookstore, which was eventually sold for USD$75 million to Amazon.com in 2004.

After resigning from Kingsoft, Lei became known as a prolific angel investor in China, investing in over 20 companies including Vancl.com, UCWeb, and social platform YY (social network). In 2008, he became a Chairman of UCWeb. He continues to invest in companies in the ecommerce, social networking, and mobile industries through Shunwei Capital (Chinese: 顺为资本), an investment company which he was a founding partner.

In 2013, Lei Jun was appointed a delegate of the National People's Congress.

Xiaomi

On 6 April 2010, Lei Jun founded Xiaomi Inc, a technology company that manufactures smartphones, mobile apps, and other consumer electronics. His cofounders include Lin Bin, Vice President of the Google China Institute of Engineering; Dr Zhou Guangping, Senior Director of the Motorola Beijing R&D Center; Liu De, Department Head of Industrial Design at the University of Science and Technology Beijing; Li Wanqiang, General Manager of Kingsoft Dictionary; Wong Kong-Kat, Principal Development Manager; and Hong Feng, Senior Product Manager for Google China.

The company has created a diverse portfolio of products, ranging from phones, tablets, TVs, routers, power banks, and earphones, to air and water purifiers and even robot vacuums and scooters.

By the end of 2014, Xiaomi had raised more than $1 billion and was valued at $45 billion.

Lei Jun and his company Xiaomi Inc have already invested in more than 70 start-up companies and plans on investing in more so as to help Xiaomi Inc expand and grow its ecosystem exponentially.

Lei Jun's business activities have been recognized through multiple industry awards. In 1999, 2000 and 2002 he was named a Top 10 IT Figure in China. He was selected by China Central Television as one of the Top 10 Business Leaders of the Year in 2012; In 2013 he was named one of the 11 Most Powerful Business people in Asia by Fortune as well as the award for Most Notable Entrepreneur by BAZAAR Men’s Style. In 2014, he was named Businessman Of The Year by Forbes Asia.

In 2015, he became the 4th richest person in China with a net worth of USD$1.32 billion.

In 1998, he was named an honorary professor at Wuhan University, his alma mater, where there is also a scholarship in his name.

He is married and has two children.