When it comes to creating reality TV shows about the absurdly wealthy, Netflix has certainly cornered the market. The latest reality phenomenon is called Bling Empire and it hit the streamer on January 15. It soon skyrocketed to the top ten. Audiences are already begging for Bling Empire season two. Of course, the fascination with the rich isn’t new. Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous hit the market in 1984 and made the public's obsession with celebrity wealth official. However, there is something fairly new about the exceptional cast of Bling Empire. They have serious, serious money. Most of them aren’t just wealthy… they're incredibly rich.
When Bling Empire first came out, headlines touted the show as “Selling Sunset with More Billionaires.” Even the relatable “not-rich” lead Kevin Kreider is reported to be well-off. However, well-off might as well be poor when the rest of the cast members are literally heirs to the fortunes of billionaires. There’s Kane Lim, who is the son of a real estate, oil, and shipping magnate who claims that Crazy Rich Asians was based on his life. Then, there's Anna Shay who, at sixty, is the show’s queen mother. She is one of the best reasons to watch, according to a lot of Bling Empire viewers. Anna’s late father started a business, which was eventually sold to Lockheed Martin for $1.2 billion. The cast is crazy rich but most of the cast members have managed to find ways to establish their own identities, out of their rich parents’ shadows. However, one of these rich cast members is really still a kid herself. At just 21, Jaime Xie is the former equestrian and fashion influencer daughter of tech billionaire, Ken Xie.
Ken Xie is an American businessman who’s made some serious waves in Silicon Valley's cybersecurity space, according to Forbes. In fact, his companies have helped to shape the entire cybersecurity industry. He founded Systems Integration Solutions, NetScreen, and Fortinet. He is the current CEO of Fortinet and was the former CEO of NetScreen before it was acquired by Juniper Networks for $4 billion in 2004. Fortinet brought in $2.2 billion in revenue in 2019. His net worth as of January 21, 2021, is estimated to be $4 billion. See his daughter Jaime below:
Born and raised in China by Chinese academics, Ken’s parents sent him to Stanford to study engineering. Though he did earn an M.S. degree in electrical engineering, Ken became interested in entrepreneurship while studying. He started Systems Integration Solutions as a Stanford graduate student in 1993. He launched NetScreen in 1996 and Fortinet in 2000. At 57, Ken is an iconic Silicon Valley success. However, he’s also a family man. He started his third company, Fortinet, with his brother, Michael. He now lives with his family in Los Altos Hills, California.
To learn more about his daughter Jaime Xie and other fascinating Bling Empire cast members, be sure to check out the show.
Bling Empire is now streaming on Netflix