Yuan Baojing was born on February 16, 1966, in Liaoyang, Liaoning Province, China, to a peasant family. Despite his humble beginnings, Yuan rose to prominence in the 1990s as one of China’s young billionaire entrepreneurs. He established the Jianhao Group, a Beijing-based conglomerate with investments spanning multiple industries, including oilfields abroad. Yuan’s rapid accumulation of wealth reflected the explosive growth of China’s private sector during this period, and he became a symbol of the country’s new class of self-made business elites.

However, Yuan’s business career was not without setbacks. In the mid-1990s, he lost an estimated CNY 100 million in a high-stakes futures trading deal. Yuan became convinced that the loss was not simply due to market forces but resulted from manipulation by Liu Han, a powerful Sichuan businessman with significant political connections. 

In the mid-1990s, Yuan suffered a significant financial loss of approximately 100 million yuan in futures trading. He attributed this loss to manipulations by businessman Liu Han. Seeking retribution, Yuan offered 160,000 yuan to former police officer Wang Xing to arrange Liu's murder. Wang hired contract killer Li Haiyang, who attempted to assassinate Liu in February 1997 but failed. Li was subsequently arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Following the failed assassination, Wang began blackmailing Yuan, threatening to expose his involvement. To silence Wang, Yuan enlisted his brother, Yuan Baoqi, and cousin, Yuan Baosen, to carry out Wang's murder. On October 4, 2003, Wang was shot and killed. Yuan, along with his brother and cousin, was arrested in November 2003. 

In January 2005, Yuan was convicted of intentional murder. His initial execution date was set for October 14, 2005, but was postponed after his wife, Zhuoma, transferred shares worth billions of yuan to the government. Despite this, Yuan was executed by lethal injection on March 17, 2006, in Liaoyang. His brother and cousin were executed on the same day, while another cousin, Yuan Baofu, received a suspended death sentence.