LeTV

Jia Yueting, born to a modest family in Shanxi province, had a background in local tax administration before venturing into a series of businesses. His journey with LeTV began with the ambition to build a comprehensive entertainment and technology ecosystem. LeTV achieved a significant milestone by becoming the world's first IPO-listed company in its sector, going public on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on August 12, 2010. At its peak in 2015, the company's market capitalization was reportedly $12 billion. The company's products included a video streaming service with a vast library of content, flat-screen smart TVs, and the LeCloud service. It also ventured into producing its own original content and hardware like set-top boxes.

However, the company's aggressive and rapid expansion into numerous unrelated sectors, such as electric vehicles (Faraday Future), real estate, and smartphones, created immense financial strain. This overextension led to a severe cash flow crisis starting around late 2016. Consequently, Jia Yueting resigned as CEO and chairman in July 2017 and fled to the US to avoid debt-related legal issues in China. The company faced numerous lawsuits from creditors and suppliers. Ultimately, LeTV was delisted from the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on May 14, 2020, after its market value had evaporated by over 99% from its peak. Jia Yueting later filed for personal bankruptcy in the US and was banned for life from China's securities market due to alleged fraud in the company's IPO.