Li is the founder and chairman of Futu Holdings, an online brokerage firm with customers in the US, China and Hong Kong. The Shenzhen-based company reported revenue of HK$13.6 billion ($1.7 billion) in 2024. It's backed by Chinese technology giant Tencent Holdings and started trading publicly in New York in March 2019.
Li's wealth is derived from his 36% in Futu Holdings, an online brokerage platform serves customers in U.S., China and Hong Kong.
He owns the shares through offshore trusts, according to the company's April 14, 2025 filing.
A company spokesman didn't respond to a request for comment on the net worth calculation.
Born in 1977, Li began his career at Tencent after receiving a degree in computer science and technology from Hunan University in 2000. He was Tencent's 18th founding employee, and an early researcher of QQ messaging software. Li founded Tencent Video, one of the largest video-streaming platforms in China, according to a July 2020 Bloomberg News report.
Li left to start Futu after growing frustrated with the software he used to trade Hong Kong stocks. The online broker, backed by Tencent, was formally incorporated under Hong Kong law in April 2012.
Li credits his time at Tencent for building his business acumen and said he was inspired by the company's founders, Pony Ma and Zhang Zhidong. Tencent remains Futu's largest institutional backer, and several of its employees were key in helping the online broker grow. Futu began trading publicly through an IPO in March 2019.