Who is Viya, China’s ‘live-streaming queen’: before the millennial billionaire got hit with a US$210 million tax evasion fine, she sold a space rocket launch service online

Dec 22 , 2021

China’s ‘queen of livestreaming’ Viya. Photo: Weibo

The 36-year-old, who had over 18 million followers on Weibo and 80 million followers on Taobao, was slapped with a US$210 million fine for tax evasion

Tesla sought her help, Miranda Kerr penned her Time ‘Most Influential People of 2021’ profile and Kim Kardashian’s fragrance sold out in China after her live-stream

China’s expanding celebrity crackdown has now reached some of its top influencers, including “live-streaming queen” Huang Wei, more commonly known as Viya. The popular Hangzhou-based e-commerce expert was recently fined a record US$210 million for tax evasion.

Often touted as being able to “sell anything” on Taobao Live’s live-streaming platform, the 36-year-old quickly became an internet celebrity in her country, amassing over 18 million followers on microblogging site Weibo and 80 million followers on Taobao.

Following actress Zheng Shuang, who was fined US$46 million for similar charges of tax evasion, and Zhao Wei, who was scrubbed without warning from China’s media platforms, Viya is the latest high-profile individual to be targeted under the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) “common prosperity” policy.

Although she expressed remorse for her actions on her now-defunct Weibo account, her subsequent suspension from Taobao suggests that her future remains in the dark.

But what else do we know about her?

Millennial making millions

Chinese online influencer Viya prepares for live streaming on the e-commerce platform Taobao in May 2020. Photo: Getty Images

Viya was always good at sales. Her family in Anhui province worked in retail and, at the age of 18, she opened her first boutique in Beijing. She opened a chain of stores in Xi’an before going fully digital in 2012. Today, reports have placed her estimated net worth from more than US$30 million to a more incredible US$1.25 billion. The key opinion leader (KOL) is an extraordinarily effective saleswoman, making over US$31 billion worth of sales on her live-stream channel in 2020, reports Protocol.

She really can sell anything

Chinese online influencer Viya had 80 million followers on Taobao. Photo: Getty Images

Viya’s millions-strong audience (over 37 million tuned in last year, reports Today Online), captive thanks to pandemic lockdowns, are buying whatever she’s offering – from clothes and beauty products to food and even real estate. Perhaps most impressively, she sold a rocket launch service for 40 million yuan (US$5.6 million) last year. Some of her fans have nicknamed her “Dora-Viya”, referencing Doraemon, the anime character that can pull anything out of its magic pocket.