At around the same time, Google Inc's (GOOG.O) Larry Page and Sergey Brin were tinkering with an algorithm that would make their search engine the largest in the world.

Li, known by his English name Robin, grew Rankdex into what would become the world's third-largest search engine and China's 'Google-killer' -- Baidu Inc (BIDU.O).

In an archetypal rags-to-riches tech story, 41-year-old Li started Baidu in a 3-star hotel room in Beijing. His search giant now dominates the world's biggest Internet market, with more than 60 percent share by revenue and about 75 percent by traffic.

Baidu raked in $468 million in revenue in 2008 and Li, described by his peers as geeky and low-key, is worth $2.1 billion, according to Forbes' 2009 rich-list.

Baidu vaulted into greater prominence after Google's shock announcement last week that it may leave China amid censorship and hacking concerns. [ID:nSGE60C01H] [ID:nTOE6010AR]

Analysts said Baidu stands to be a big winner whether or not Google quits China -- as it would be in a stronger position to negotiate prices with advertisers, who may be leery of working with Google if it stays. [ID:TOE60D016]

Since Google's announcement, Baidu's Nasdaq-listed shares have gained around a fifth in value and touched a record $470.25 last Friday.