China Gets New Tech Billionaire As Bilibili Founder Joins Elite Group

China streaming site Bililbili has added a second billionaire among its leaders after the company's Nasdaq-traded shares rose to a record on first-quarter financial gains.

Founder Yi Xu’s approximately 8% stake was worth $1 billion this morning after the stock traded as high as $36.26.

 

Shanghai-headquartered Bilibili’s shares rose after the company said yesterday revenue in the first three months of 2020 soared by 69% from a year earlier to $327 million (see report here).

 

Investors also include Alibaba and Tencent. Sony in April bought 5% stake in company, which is popular among Generation-Z users.

 

Chairman Chen Rui became a billionaire last year, and is worth $1.7 billion on the Forbes Real-time Billionaires List today.

 

Xu, who holds an associate degree from the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, founded Bilibili in 2009, and has been a director and president since December 2013. He is 30 years old, according to a U.S. stock filing in March.

 

Bilibili’s market cap this morning exceeded $12 billion.

 

China is home to the world’s second-largest number of billionaires after the United States. Its top three richest individuals – Tencent’s Ma Huateng, Alibaba’s Jack Ma and Pinduoduo’s Colin Huang – all built their fortunes from online businesses.