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Wang Sicong

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In this Chinese name, the family name is Wang.

Wang Sicong
王思聪
Wang in 2015
Born (1988-01-03) 3 January 1988 (age 36)
Dalian, Liaoning, China
EducationWinchester College
Occupation(s)CEO, Panda TV
Parent(s)Wang Jianlin, Lin Ning

Wang Sicong (Chinese: 王思聪; pinyin: Wáng Sīcōng; born 3 January 1988) is a Chinese businessman, and the only son of Chinese business magnate Wang Jianlin.[1][2][3]

Early life

[edit]

Wang Sicong was born in Dalian, Liaoning, China, in 1988.[4][5] His father Wang Jianlin is the chairman of the Dalian Wanda Group, China's largest real estate developer, as well as the world's largest movie theater operator.[6]

When Wang was young, he attended Swiss Cottage Primary School in Singapore[7] and then entered Winchester College in United Kingdom. After graduating from Winchester College, he enrolled at the University College London (UCL) Department of Philosophy.[8] However, there is no evidence showing that he successfully obtained his BA degree from UCL.

Career

[edit]

Wang is the chairman of Prometheus Capital, a private equity company[9] he founded with CNY500 million that his father gave to him 'for trial and error'.[4][10][11] He served as a director of the Dalian Wanda Group twice, from 7 August 2009 to 8 March 2011, and from 26 January 2016 to 29 August 2022. [12][13]

In 2011 Wang founded the professional esports organization Invictus Gaming (iG). IG went on to win The International 2012 Dota 2 championship the next year, as well as the League of Legends Worlds Championship in 2018.

Wang reportedly spent US$516.7 million on the construction of the Wanda Reign seven-star hotel in Shanghai, which opened in June 2016.[14][15] The hotel was designed by the British architect Norman Foster.[16]

Wang also founded the music management company Banana Culture in 2015. As of 2017 it was managing the Chinese promotions for Korean pop groups T-ara and EXID.[17][18] In 2021, the company was acquired by VSPN. Wang was given the function of "vice chairman of the company’s strategy committee" following the acquisition.[19]

On 27 November 2023, Wang and the Tai'an Municipal Government signed a cultural tourism project with a total investment of approximately 3.7 billion yuan.[20]

Panda TV

[edit]

In 2015, Sicong launched Panda TV, an e-sports streaming channel designed to compete with Amazon's Twitch.[21][22][23] In March 2019, CEO Zhang Juyuan announced that Panda TV would cease operations due to cash flow problems.[24] According to financial news sources in China, broadband server expenses and celebrity streamer salaries were too high to sustain operations.[24] Sicong had a 40% share in the company.[24] Tencent took Panda TV's place as China's main game streaming platform.[25] Following the bankruptcy of Panda TV, a Beijing court shortly imposed spending limits on him as he paid back investors.[26]

According to reporting by 21st Century Business Herald, after the failure of Panda TV, his father refused to provide financial support to cover his losses, but his mother supported Wang with another 100 million RMB.[11]

Public image

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Wang is frequently nicknamed online as "the people's husband", "China's most eligible bachelor", or "China's richest son".[10][27]

Wang is considered an example of fu'erdai, known for throwing parties, posting pictures which flaunt his wealth, and speaking with celebrities.[28][29][30] He was widely criticized when stating the criteria of his potential partners, with one of the requirements being "buxom".[31] In 2021 he attracted controversy over abusive comments he made against a female celebrity after being romantically rejected.[30]

In April 2022, days after questioning the use of traditional Chinese medicine to treat COVID-19, Wang was banned from Weibo, where he had more than 40.5 million followers.[32]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Wang Sicong at it again, China's richest son blows 2.5 million RMB at KTV in single night". Shanghaiist. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  2. ^ "王健林三得胡润榜首富 王思聪个人财富达60亿". 网易. 17 October 2016.
  3. ^ Huang, Zheping (7 June 2016). "China's newest viral app pays users to ask celebrities nosy questions". Quartz.com.
  4. ^ a b "Capital Markets Company Overview of Beijing-based Prometheus Capital". Bloomberg. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  5. ^ Levin, Ned. "Wang Sicong's uncensored microblogging highlights succession challenges at Dalian Wanda". Financial Times. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  6. ^ China Rich List, Forbes
  7. ^ "新闻人间：王思聪 音量归零的大喇叭". www.kzaobao.com (in Chinese). 9 November 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  8. ^ "起底"国民老公"王思聪留学履历(图)_新浪教育_新浪网". 18 July 2015. Archived from the original on 18 July 2015. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  9. ^ Chan, Bernice (6 October 2016). "After IPO, Hong Kong's Dining Concepts CEO shares China growth plans". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  10. ^ a b Gao, Jing. "Wang Jianlin's son, "The People's Husband," is also an aspiring VC". Allchinetech.com. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  11. ^ a b 新浪财经综合 (26 December 2019). "王思聪5亿"零花钱"练手却亏了20亿 母亲帮还1亿". finance.sina.com.cn. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  12. ^ "王思聪卸任万达集团董事，万达交接班仍不明朗". www.stcn.com/ (in Chinese). 31 August 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  13. ^ Xiang, Nina. "Are China's Fuerdai Wisely Investing, Or Wasting Their Parents' Money?". Forbes. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  14. ^ "Over-the-top: Shanghai's first 7-star hotel is a museum of antiques". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  15. ^ "China's Richest Kid Spent Over $500 Million to Build Shanghai's First 7-Star Hotel". Nextshark. 15 June 2016. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  16. ^ "Dalian Wanda scion opens ultra-luxurious hotel in Shanghai". CNBC. 17 June 2016. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  17. ^ "Girl band T-ARA signs with Chinese magnate". The Korea Times. 20 August 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  18. ^ "EXID signs with China showbiz agency". The Korea Times. 12 January 2016. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  19. ^ "Tencent-backed e-sports firm VSPN closes USD 60 million Series B+ round". KrASIA. 22 January 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  20. ^ "见市委书记签37亿文旅项目，王思聪要接班？万达：忙自己的事，基本不参与万达业务". The Paper (in Chinese (China)). 1 December 2023.
  21. ^ Huifeng, He (8 September 2015). "Son of China's richest man to launch Panda TV e-sports streaming service to rival Amazon's Twitch". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  22. ^ "Watch out Amazon, China is launching a Twitch rival called Panda TV". Venture Beat. 8 September 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  23. ^ Yuhong, Pang. "China's Internet 'Stream Queens' Are Being Showered With Cash". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  24. ^ a b c Frater, Patrick (8 March 2019). "China Live Streamer Panda TV to Close Down". Variety. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  25. ^ "Rise and fall of China's Twitch a cautionary tale for investors". South China Morning Post. 9 April 2019. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  26. ^ hermesauto (27 December 2019). "Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin's son settles with creditors". The Straits Times. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  27. ^ Zeng, Vivienne (28 August 2015). "Son of Asia's richest man, China's 'No.1 eligible bachelor', talks to BBC about freedom". Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  28. ^ Lau, Mimi (21 September 2016). "Son of China's richest man shows off eight iPhones he bought – for his dog". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  29. ^ Zuo, Mandy; He, Huifeng (25 February 2015). "'Buxomgate': Western schooling to blame for my son's gaffe, says tycoon Wang Jianlin". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  30. ^ a b "Scion of Dalian Wanda accused of sending abusive texts to online celebrity". South China Morning Post. 16 June 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  31. ^ "Lifestyles of the rich and infamous". The Economist. 2 July 2015. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  32. ^ "Billionaire's son and influencer banned from posting on China's Twitter-like Weibo platform after questioning a Beijing-endorsed Covid drug". Business Insider. 22 April 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
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