Lei Jun was born on December 16, 1969. He is a multi-millionaire industrialist and humanitarian from China. Jun is mostly famous for establishing Xiaomi, a consumer electronics giant.
As of 2022 October, the net worth of Lei Jun stood at either US$ 8.1 billion as stated by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, turning Lei into the 203rd wealthiest individual in the world, or at US$ 7.5 billion cited by Forbes, giving him the 265th rank globally.
Where was Lei Jun born?
Lei Jun was born on December 16, 1969, in Xiantao, Hubei, the People’s Republic of China. He is currently 53 years old.
What is the Alma Mater of Lei Jun?
Lei Jun is an alumnus of Wuhan University (Bachelor of Arts – 1991).
What is the Occupation of Lei Jun?
During his career, Jun has held the following positions from time to time:
- Co-founder and CEO of Xiaomi
- Chairman of UCWeb Inc.
- Chairman of Kingsoft
- Chairman of Shunwei Capital
- Chairman of YY.com
However, Lei has mostly earned his name for being the co-founder of Xiaomi.
Early Life and Education
Lei Jun was born in Xiantao, in the disadvantaged rural area of Hubei. Both Lei’s parents were tutors by profession, and people viewed it as a shamed occupation following the Cultural Revolution. Jun’s father earned $7 every month.
When he was a kid, Jun was enthusiastic about electronics and was fond of taking apart and putting together radios. His father egged on this activity. Lei manufactured the earliest electric lamp in his small town utilizing one lightbulb, two batteries, a few wires, and a self-prepared timber container.
In 1987, Lei completed his schooling at Mianyang Middle School (currently Xiantao Middle School). Subsequently, he started going to Wuhan University. In 1991, he attained a Bachelor of Arts degree in computer science there. During the final year of his college, Jun set up his first business, Gundugoms. Besides, he learned copiously and did extremely well at school.
Professional Life
In 1992, Jun became a part of Kingsoft as a technologist. In 1998, he turned into the Chief Executive Officer of the firm and in 2007 guided it for an initial public offering (IPO) on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Lei played an instrumental role to aid Kingsoft to switch from a clambering firm concentrated mostly on word-processor software programs to a fiscally steady company with merchandise that comprised cyber security software and video games as well.
On December 20, 2007, Lei stepped down as the CEO and president of Kingsoft on “health grounds”.
In 2000, Jun established Joyo.com, which was an online bookshop. However, he sold the business to Amazon.com for US$ 75 million in 2004.
In 2005, Jun invested $1 million in YY. The stocks bought were valued at $129 million after the firm turned into a public company through an IPO launched in 2012.
In 2008, Lei got nominated as one of the chairmen of UCWeb.
Foundation of Xiaomi and Subsequent Success
In 2010, Jun set up Xiaomi, a tech firm that makes mobile applications, mobile phones, and other consumer electronics items. He made it possible with many collaborators, such as Lin Bin, the erstwhile administrator of Google. Though the firm marketed different electronics goods, it was particularly concentrated on mobile phones.
By focusing on online instead of brick-and-mortar selling and by shunning expensive promotions supportive of communicating with consumers instantly via social media, Xiaomi could undercut its contenders significantly and flourish in the Chinese marketplaces.
By 2014, the firm’s worth of over $46 billion had turned it into the worthiest technology venture across the world. In 2014 April, the company manifested the influence of its trademark after it traded 2.1 million mobile phones online in only twelve hours. This was a world record for the majority of smartphones marketed on a single online platform in just one day. By the close of 2014, the smartphone maker had outperformed Samsung to become the top smartphone seller in China.
In an attempt to maintain Xiaomi’s expansion, Jun progressively searched for chances to grow away from China. In 2014 July, the smartphone behemoth started marketing mobile phones in India. As depicted by Jun, India was the most crucial market for Xiaomi following China.
In 2015 May, Xiaomi introduced an online bazaar for consumers in Europe and the United States. However, originally, it exclusively provided fitness equipment and computer add-ons instead of its mobile phones.
Under Jun’s supervision, Xiaomi turned into the 3rd biggest smartphone maker in the world—just following Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics in 2014. People extensively started calling Jun the “Steve Jobs of China.”
Lei administered the Initial Public Offering of the firm in 2018. It collected around $3 billion once it got registered on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Other Ventures
In 2011, Jun co-originated Shunwei Capital, a venture capital firm, through which he endows various enterprises in the social networking, e-commerce, and smartphone sectors.
In 2011, he became a part of Kingsoft once more in the position of chairman.
In 2013, Jun got chosen as a representative of the National People’s Congress.
What are the Honors and Accolades that Lei Jun Achieved During His Career?
- 2014 – Forbes nominated Lei as the Businessman of the Year.
- 2015 – The Time 100 picked Lei’s name.
- 2017 – Lei got nominated as one of the Top Ten Economic Influential Persons in China
- 2019 – Jun won the credit of an “Excellent Designer of Collectivism with Chinese Traits”
- 2020 – Lei Jun received the accolade of the label of “Beijing Model Worker” and “National Advanced Individual of Private Economy Fighting against COVID-19”.
Personal Life of Lei Jun
The Chinese tech baron is married to Zhang Tong. They have 2 kids. As of 2016, Lei scarcely conversed in the English language. He talked to the press through an interpreter.
Charity
By 2017, Jun made a contribution worth $1 billion to aid organizations, beginning with a contribution of ¥140,000 to Wuhan University, his graduation school, in 1997.
He subsequently contributed to Zhuhai Charity, a charitable establishment that sponsors educational institutions for refugees, and the inhabitants of Yangchun for the overhaul of schools, mud brick dwellings, artistic edifices, and the sufferers of the earthquake taking place in Lushan in 2013. He was also a contributor to the Ice Bucket Challenge for collecting finances for ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis).
In 2021, Lei contributed more than $2.2 billion valuation of Xiaomi stocks to charitable trusts.
