Trump's move to blacklist Xiaomi cost Chinese firm's top executives $4.5 bn

The move startled investors because previous bans focused on Chinese companies with military ties

The Trump administration’s surprising blacklisting of Xiaomi Corp. is costing its top executives big bucks.
 

Lei Jun, the chief executive officer who co-founded the smartphone maker about a decade ago, lost almost $3 billion as the stock tumbled a record 10%, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Lin Bin, the company’s vice chairman, is down $1.5 billion, and the fortune of at least five other billionaire shareholders has also dropped.

While China’s tech sector has been hit by the nation’s increased government scrutiny and other Trump blacklistings, Xiaomi was thriving. The Beijing-based company surpassed Apple Inc.’s smartphone sales in