39 year old entrepreneur and billionaire Lin Qi has died in Shanghai, China.
Qi ranks 870th among China’s richest entrepreneurs.
Though Lin Qi is not a household name, his projects are well known.
Here is what we’ve learned.
1. Lin Qi Worked In Various Facets Of Entertainment Industry
Qi was founder and CEO of Yoozoo, a video game company.
Lin founded Yoozoo in 2009.
Yoozoo is best known for introducing the 2019 video game Game of Thrones: Winter Is Coming.
Under Qi’s leadership, Yoozoo formed a movie division in 2014.
In September, Netflix picked up Qi’s project, an English adaptation of the Chinese sci-fi series called The Three-Body Problem based on a sci-fi trilogy by author Liu Cixin.
Qi enlisted David Benioff and D.B. Weiss of Game of Thrones fame to produce the series.
This project was widely criticized by five U.S. senators who accused Netflix of “normalizing” China’s imprisonment and persecution of Uyghur Muslims.
2. His Death Is Being Investigated Though It Appears He Was Poisoned
Lin Qi, the 39-year-old billionaire CEO of video game developer Yoozoo Group, died on Christmas Day after falling sick and being hospitalized earlier this month.
Reports suggest he may have been poisoned by a colleague.https://t.co/mrJqVqGafr
— NPR (@NPR) December 28, 2020
The circumstances surrounding his death are bizarre.
It is unclear exactly when the poisoning occurred.
Yoozoo announced that Qi was hospitalized on December 23, but the statement said he was admitted to the hospital on December 17.
The statement said he was in stable condition but in “physical discomfort.”
NPR reported that Qi was actually hospitalized on December 16 with symptoms of an “acute illness” and was barely able to walk.
Qi died on Christmas day; Yoozoo confirmed his death on December 26.
An excerpt of Yoozoo’s statement reads as follows:
“The directors, supervisors, senior management and all employees of the company express their deep condolences on the passing of Mr. Lin Qi.”
Lin Qi allegedly drank a fermented tea that contained poison.
3. It May Be The Result Of A Dispute With A Coworker
Police suspect foul play in the death of Lin Qi, a video game tycoon and producer on an upcoming Netflix show from the creators of Game of Thrones. https://t.co/OMIzluXNP2 pic.twitter.com/bzVsN9zBW7
— Game Informer (@gameinformer) December 29, 2020
A man is in custody pending further investigation
He is also 39 years old and is a Yoozoo colleague.
His name is Xu Yao.
Police say he is “suspected of committing a major crime.”
Alleged in fighting within the company ranks is believed to be the motive for Lin Qi’s poisoning.
Xu Yao reportedly heads up Yoozoo’s Three-Body Universe, the business unit within the company responsible for overseeing projects related to The Three-Body Problem.
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