Lei Jun, founder, chairman and chief executive of the Chinese electronics maker Xiaomi, is ranked No. 90 on the Forbes 2026 World’s Billionaires list, tied with Dan Gilbert and Andreas von Bechtolsheim, with a net worth of $27.9 billion.
Lei Jun was born on December 16, 1969, in Xiantao, Hubei, China. Both of his parents were teachers, and his father earned $7 a month. As a child he liked to take radios apart and put them back together, which his father encouraged, and he made the first electric lamp in his village from two batteries, a bulb, a wooden box and some wire.
Net Worth and Rank
- Forbes 2026 list: No. 90 (tied with Dan Gilbert and Andreas von Bechtolsheim), with $27.9 billion
- Earlier estimate: Forbes put his wealth at $42.6 billion in May 2025, 33rd in the world, according to Wikipedia
Early Career
Lei graduated from Wuhan University in 1991 with a bachelor’s degree in computer science. In 1992 he joined the software company Kingsoft as an engineer, became its CEO in 1998 and led it to a Hong Kong initial public offering in 2007; he resigned as president and CEO on December 20, 2007, citing health reasons. In 2000 he founded the online retailer joyo.com, which he sold to Amazon in 2004 for $75 million. His $1 million investment in YY in 2005 was worth $129 million when it listed in 2012.
Xiaomi
- 2010: Lei founded Xiaomi with several partners, including the former Google executive Lin Bin
- 2011: he co-founded the investment firm Shunwei Capital and rejoined Kingsoft as chairman
- July 9, 2018: Xiaomi listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the first company listed there with a weighted voting rights structure
- March 2021: Lei announced Xiaomi’s move into smart electric vehicles, personally leading the project, with planned investment of $10 billion over the next decade
Public Roles
Lei was elected to the Beijing Municipal People’s Congress in 2012 and has been a deputy to the National People’s Congress since 2013.
Why It Matters
Xiaomi is one of the largest smartphone makers in the world and is expanding into home appliances and cars, and Lei’s stake in it is the source of his fortune.
Net worth figures change daily with share prices. Rankings here follow the Forbes 2026 World’s Billionaires list, with wealth measured on March 1, 2026.
Image: The Xiaomi headquarters in Beijing (file photo, 2024; Lei Jun is not pictured). Photo: Justin Sijbolts / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
