After a disappointing debut on Monday, Xiaomi’s shares rose above HK$20 for the first time today. As company shares soared so did the net worth of Lei Jun, the co-founder and CEO of Xiaomi, who holds a 31.4% stake in the firm.
As of this morning, Lei’s net worth came to $18 billion, catapulting him to #62 on Forbes’ rich list, local media reports. The number has since jumped to $19.4 billion at the time of publishing. According to Bloomberg figures, Lei’s net worth has increased in excess of $14.1 billion over the past year.
In terms of individual net worth, Lei is now ahead of a long list of billionaires and technology tycoons including Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-hee, Baidu CEO Robin Li ($12 billion), JD.com founder Richard Liu ($10.8 billion), SF Express founder Wang Wei ($17.3 billion), and NetEase CEO Ding Lei ($15.9 billion).
Xiaomi opened at HK$19.6, 15% above their offer price (HK$17) in their market debut on Monday. As of this morning (13 July 10 AM), Xiaomi Group’s valuation reached HK$458.7 billion ($58.4 billion). Xiaomi’s “monster IPO”, which aims to raise up to $10 billion, was touted as the largest IPO since 2014 after Alibaba’s. Founded in 2010, Xiaomi is now the world’s fourth-largest smartphone manufacturer.