Lei Jun [File photo]

Birthplace: China

Notable facts: Chinese-language media outlets sometimes use the word "baofahu," loosely translated as "new money," to describe Chinese smartphone company Xiaomi. However, the term is no compliment: "baofahu" is often used derogatorily to describe lower-class Chinese who have gotten rich overnight.

According to FP, Lei Jun wears a black shirt and blue jeans like Steve Jobs did, and much of his phone's design shares similarities with Apple products. But the ideas behind his sales and marketing edge are anything but imitative.

"Instead of brandishing phones' high-cost luxury appeal like that Cupertino company," Fast Company wrote in February, Lei "sells them in buzz-generating flash sales at razor-thin margins, then takes advantage of revenue streams provided by software." Lei's cell phone company, founded in April 2010, has surpassed Samsung to become China's leading cell phone vendor, claiming 30 percent of the country's market share in the third quarter of this year.

Xiaomi, which didn't release its first smartphone until 2011, is already planning to expand into foreign markets including Russia, Brazil, and Mexico later this year.