MOST Embarrassing Past Xi Wants to Erase: A Leak Turned China’s Richest Man Into Its Biggest Loser

Is investing overseas the same as moving assets? I just said yes, it's moving assets. The money Wanda makes isn't stolen, robbed, or printed by us. As far as I know, robbing banks or printing fake money has nothing to do with Wanda. Everything we have is earned through hard work. And since we worked hard for this money, I can invest it wherever I want. The man speaking is Wang Jianlin. He is the founder and leader of Wanda Group, the largest commercial real estate empire in China. He was once the richest person in China, with a fortune that even surpassed Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing at one point. These remarks were made in 2015 during a speech at Harvard University. Wang Jianlin's bold statement, which sounded somewhat arrogant, effectively confirmed that Wanda was transferring assets overseas. This caught the attention of the authorities. What he said later would cause even more trouble for his company. When responding to a New York Times report about powerful Chinese elites holding shares in Wanda, Wang explained that Qi Chaoqiao and Deng Jiaogui had transferred all their Wanda shares two months before the company went public. He added, Deng Jiaogui sacrificed significant personal benefits. Qi Chaoqiao and Deng Jiaogui are the sister and brother-in-law of Xi Jinping, who is the Chinese president and the Communist Party's general secretary. Wang's intention was to distance Wanda from the Xi family and defend Xi Jinping. However, his remarks inadvertently confirmed foreign media reports about the family's past holdings in Wanda. On top of that, it was revealed that the shares were transferred to a longtime employee of the couple's company. This unintentionally highlighted a common practice among China's political elites, transferring shares to relatives or trusted partners to conceal business interests. This practice is often referred to as white gloves. Shortly afterward, a Chinese financial news site published an article quoting Wang Jianlin praising Xi Jinping's strict governance style. Wang said that Xi was tough when running the country and even stricter when it came to its family. However, the article was deleted just a few hours later. Whether Wang's candid remarks triggered further consequences is unclear. But the following year, in 2016, Wanda Group reached the peak of its business success. Soon after, the company began its decline. In recent years, Wanda's aggressive expansion coincided with a downturn in China's real estate sector. The company, once a major player, is now trapped in severe debt crises. Wang Jianlin, once known for his aggressive asset acquisitions, has shifted gears. Now he's focused on selling assets to pay down debts. In the first month and a half of 2025, Wanda Group sold five Wanda plazas in Xuancheng, Tonglin, Siping and other cities. The buyer was Kunhua Equity Investment, which is controlled by New China Life Insurance. This company was relatively unknown until now. But the fact that it could buy five high-value Wanda plazas at once attracted public attention. Investigations by Chinese media revealed that Kunhua had already acquired nine other Wanda plazas in 2024. In total, Kunhua Equity Investment now holds 14 Wanda plazas. Further checks into Kunhua's ownership showed that the company is backed by New China Life Insurance and China International Capital Corporation, both of which are state-owned enterprises. It's worth mentioning that the Wanda plazas in Siping and Yangzhou sold this February were considered high-quality projects within Wanda Group. The Siping Wanda Plaza, which opened in 2016, was the group's 142nd project and the first Wanda plaza in Siping City. The Yangzhou Wanda Plaza opened in 2017 and was the group's 229th project, with a total construction area of about 405,000 square meters. Both Siping and Yangzhou Wanda plazas had been in operation for seven to eight years, which is typically the most prosperous and stable phase for commercial projects. As the only Wanda plazas located in the respective city's core business districts, these projects were highly profitable for the company. Selling them now underscores the immense financial pressure Wang Jianlin is facing. In addition to selling assets, news has repeatedly surfaced about Wang Jianlin and his son Wang Sicong having their shares frozen. Recently, Dalian Hexin Investment Company, controlled by the father and son, had shares worth 77 million yuan frozen. Earlier, on February 5, Dalian Wanda Group also had shares worth over 800 million yuan frozen. By February 13, the topic was trending on Chinese social media. Data from Tianyancha shows that as of January this year, Wanda's frozen assets due to financial disputes has accumulated to about 6 billion yuan. Earlier this year, Wang Jianlin pledged all 2.4 million shares he owns in Dalian Wanda Group to Zhuhai Wanyin Enterprise Management Company. Analysts believe that with the current economic downturn, Wang Jianlin is finding it increasingly difficult to cash out and exit. Looking back, Wang Jianlin and his son once lived a life of luxury and prominence. In 2013, Wang Jianlin topped the list of China's richest individuals with a fortune of 86 billion becoming a business tycoon. His son, Wang Sicong, gained fame for his outspoken personality and numerous controversies, earning the nickname the nation's husband. Some internet users have compiled what they call classic quotes from Wang Jianlin, which now sound quite ironic. Whether you seek wealth or status, you can't achieve it without taking risks. Risk and reward go hand in hand. If you play it safe, you won't gain much. There's an old saying, wealth is found in danger. Forget Tsinghua and Peking University. What matters is having guts. Forget Harvard and Yale. What matters is daring to break new ground. Opportunities are created by those who take action. One of Wang Jianlin's most famous quotes, which became a media sensation at the time, was his remark about setting a small goal of earning 100 million yuan. If you want to become the biggest in the world or the richest, that's the right ambition. But it's better to start with a small, achievable goal. For example, why not first aim to make 100 million yuan within a few years? Now, in the present day, images of Wang Jianlin looking frail and significantly thinner have circulated online. The once-powerful businessman no longer has his former vitality, and his commercial empire is now on shaky ground. Comments online read, How did he get so thin? Is it because his son is a constant worry? Indeed, Wang Jianlin's only son, Wang Sitong, has proven to be quite a handful. The British-educated heir, famous for his lavish lifestyle and frequent changes in girlfriends, has always been a magnet for public attention. Many of Wang Sitong's business moves were driven by personal interest. His ventures ranged from tipping influencers and founding a live-streaming company to acquire an esports team. However, many of these projects ended abruptly and unceremoniously. Despite repeated investment failures, his outspoken personality and candid social media presence gained him more than 40 million followers. Wang Sitong didn't hesitate to comment on entertainment industry scandals or call-out industry issues, presenting himself as a rebellious and free-spirited figure. But his behavior suggests he has little interest in taking over Wanda. As Wanda Group went from its peak to its current decline, the father-and-son duo fell from the heights of success to the depths of uncertainty. But how did this happen? To understand the story, we need to go back to 1988. That year, Wang Jianlin left a government job in Dalian to manage a struggling state-owned housing development company. This marked the beginning of his journey into real estate. In 1989, Wanda earned its first big profits through a slum redevelopment project. By 1992, the company underwent restructuring and became one of China's first shareholding companies. Over the next decade, Wang led Wanda through privatization, becoming its major shareholder. During this time, he also acquired Dalian's local football team, which went on to win multiple national championships, boosting Wanda's reputation nationwide. In 2000, Wang Jianlin announced Wanda's official entry into commercial real estate. In 2003, Wanda Plaza opened its first location in Changchun's Chongqing Road. Back then, these plazas focused on selling clothing, electronics, groceries, building materials, and movie tickets, much like traditional department stores. By 2006, upgraded Wanda plazas emerged. These newer plazas were over 500,000 meters in size, with some exceeding 1 million square meters. They also evolved beyond simple retail spaces, transforming into massive urban complexes that included hotels, office towers, apartments, and pedestrian shopping streets. The Wanda plazas found in major cities today are based on these later designs. In 2010, Wanda Group introduced a new slogan, Wanda Plaza is the center of the city. This marked the birth of a fourth-generation Wanda Plaza. With this slogan, Wang Jianlin managed to shift the power dynamic in real estate. Instead of developers chasing government contracts, Wanda became a sought-after partner, with local officials actively approaching the company to bring its signature commercial complexes into their cities. Wanda plazas soon became city landmarks of urban development across China. Riding this wave of success, Wanda expanded into four key sectors, commercial real estate, hotels, cultural cinemas, and retail chains. The company entered what seemed like a healthy cycle of diversified growth. From 2006 to 2016, Wanda experienced a decade of meteoric growth, with its plaza spreading across China and transforming the commercial landscape of countless cities. Some credit Wanda with contributing significantly to China's modern urban appearance, its glittering city centers, and dense clusters of high-rise shopping complexes. During this time, Wanda's rapid expansion became legendary. One widely circulated anecdote detailed Wang Jianlin's travel schedule. In a single day, he flew 6,000 kilometers, crossed two countries, visited three cities, and signed contracts worth 50 billion yuan. Wanda's strategy in this period seemed to boil down to one word, buy. Wang Jianlin operated like a relentless hunter, acquiring businesses around the globe. For instance, when Wanda decided to enter the cinema industry, it went on a shopping spree. In 2012, it bought AMC Theatres, the second-largest cinema chain in the U.S., for 2.6 billion U.S. dollars. In 2015, it acquired British firm HGance for 2.25 billion U.S. dollars. In 2016, it purchased Carmike Cinemas for 1.1 billion U.S. dollars and Legendary Entertainment for 3.5 billion U.S. dollars. During Europe's financial crisis, Wanda snapped up the Odeon and UCI Cinema Group for 8 billion euros. These moves made Wanda the world's largest cinema operator. Later, when Wang set his sights on the sports industry, he acquired Infront Sports and Media, the World Triathlon Corporation, and even bought a stake in Atletico Madrid. Such an aggressive, forward-thinking expansion, combined with Wanda's domestic dominance, left many observers convinced the company had political protection behind the scenes. Indeed, it was around 2007, just as Wanda began its ascent, that Wang Jianlin started attracting high-level political investors from the CCP's inner circle. The first significant investor came from a newly registered company in Beijing called Minghao Holdings. The company acquired 2.5 percent of Wanda Group for less than 500,000 U.S. dollars. By 2015, that modest investment had ballooned to a value of 640 million U.S. dollars. Investigations later revealed that Minghao Holdings was controlled by Wang Xinyu, the son of Wang Zhaoguo, who was then serving as a vice chairman of the National People's Congress. Wang Xinyu later transferred these shares to Wang Zhaoguo's niece, Yang Xin. Many speculated that Yang Xin was merely a white glove, a figurehead used to disguise the true ownership. Two months later, another new company called Wugu Feng Investment Consulting bought into Wanda. This firm was traced back to Li Botan, the son-in-law of Jia Qinglin, who was then the chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, CPPCC. With these two politburo families on board, Wang Qianlin secured his place as one of China's red aristocrats. Just a few months later, he was appointed as a standing member of the CPPCC, a move widely attributed to Jia Qinglin's influence. Over the next four years, Wang was repeatedly recognized as an outstanding entrepreneur, an award presented by none other than Wang Zhaoguo himself. In 2008, as the global financial crisis wreaked habit on real estate markets worldwide, most of China's property market also took a sharp downturn. But one company stood out, Wanda Group. That year, Wanda broke new ground on seven new plazas, a record for the company. This remarkable growth catapulted its founder, Wang Qianlin, to 20th place on the Who Run Rich list, a significant leap from his previous rankings. The following year, Wanda gained even more influential connections when Xi Jinping's sister, Qi Chaochao, and her husband, Deng Xiaogui, entered the picture. In September 2009, Wanda's commercial real estate arm, Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties Company Limited, completed two rounds of private fundraising. Among the new investors was Beijing Qingchuan Daidi Investment, controlled by Qi Chaochao and Deng Xiaogui, who invested $28.6 million. At the time, Xi Jinping was already serving as China's vice president and was widely seen as the country's next top leader. When Xi Jinping officially took power in 2012 and launched a sweeping anti-corruption campaign, Qi Chaochao and Deng Xiaogui began quietly withdrawing from many of their investments, which were worth hundreds of millions of dollars. In 2013, they transferred their Wanda shares, then valued at around $240 million, to a longtime employee named Xu Zaisheng, who had worked for Qingchuan Daidi for 13 years. But Xi's family wasn't the only politically connected one linked to Wanda. Another prominent shareholder was the family of former Premier Wen Jiabao. Wen Jiabao's daughter, Wen Ruchun, who used the alias Lily Chang, invested in Wanda in 2009 through her business associate, Jin Yi. By 2015, her stake was worth approximately $250 million. Jin Yi, many believe, was merely a white glove, a figurehead used to conceal Wen Ruchun's financial interests. Wen Jiabao's son, Wen Yunsong, also known as Winston Wen, was the founder of New Horizon Capital. In 2010, one of New Horizon's investment funds acquired a stake in Wanda, which by 2015 was valued at roughly $526 million. These are just the publicly known cases. There may well be other powerful families who quietly took part in Wanda's financial feast, but haven't yet been exposed. From 2007, when Wang Jianlin welcomed his first high-level political shareholder in 2015, his personal fortune ballooned. That year, he topped the new Fortune 500 rich list, becoming China's wealthiest individual. In just eight years, Wang accumulated assets that included 66 Wanda plazas, 38 five-star hotels, 980 cinema screens, and 58 department stores. Since Wanda remained unlisted at the time, Wang Jianlin was often described as the invisible boss of China's real estate industry, commanding vast wealth without the public scrutiny that comes with being a publicly traded company. As we mentioned at the beginning, 2015 marked a turning point for Wanda Group, a shift from its peak to its decline. That year, reports from Voice of America and New York Times exposed the politically connected shareholders behind Wanda. The fallout worsened when Wang Jianlin, during a speech at Harvard, inadvertently confirmed the report's accuracy. Fearing potential scrutiny, these powerful backers began to distance themselves from Wanda. By 2016, as China's financial landscape shifted, Xi Jinping began emphasizing the importance of financial security. Zhou Xiaochuan, then the governor of the People's Bank of China, also issued warnings about risky overseas investments, warnings widely interpreted as directed at Wanda. Around this time, Wanda's debt levels began to snowball. By the end of 2016, Wanda commercial properties reported approximately 100.2 billion yuan in cash reserves and over 700 billion yuan in total assets. However, its liabilities had climbed to 520 billion yuan, pushing its debt-to-asset ratio to 74 percent. The company's net profit that year stood at just 37.9 billion yuan. Wanda also carried 1.2 billion yuan in short-term loans, more than 20 billion yuan in non-current liabilities due within a year, and around 200 billion yuan in long-term loans and bonds. With annual profits insufficient even to cover interest payments, let alone repay principal, Wanda was in precarious financial territory. The situation worsened in 2017 as government restrictions on real estate tightened. Wanda's cash flow broke down, and banks began demanding repayments. Rumors spread about the company's liquidity crisis, and Wang Jianlin lost his title as China's richest man to Xu Jiayin of Evergrande. In a desperate bid to stay afloat, Wanda sold off significant domestic assets. It offloaded 13 Wanda cultural tourism cities and 76 hotels for 63 billion yuan and shifted its investment focus overseas. According to reports from Chinese media in 2017, Wanda's overseas investments had reached 250 billion yuan, roughly 40 billion U.S. dollars, spanning real estate, hotels, entertainment and luxury brands across the U.S., Europe, Australia and India. At the time, China's foreign exchange reserves were estimated at 3 trillion U.S. dollars. Wanda alone had transferred funds abroad equal to 1.2 percent of that total, leaving behind a mountain of domestic debt. This sparked speculation about Wang Jianlin being banned from leaving the country. To address its mounting debts, Wanda launched an aggressive asset-selling campaign. In 2017, it sold 77 hotels to R&F Properties and 13 tourism projects to Sunac China. Simultaneously, it began liquidating international assets. Within just over a year, Wanda managed to repay more than 200 billion yuan in debt, narrowly avoiding a full-scale financial collapse. However, the company's struggles didn't end there. Wanda Commercial Management made several attempts to go public on China's A-share market. It signed multiple bet-on agreements with strategic investors, promising lucrative returns if the IPO succeeded. But the listing repeatedly hit regulatory roadblocks, and investors demanded Wanda buy back shares, dragging Wang Jianlin into prolonged legal battles. By 2023, Wanda was forced to sell off most of its most lucrative assets, its Wanda plazas. The company's crown jewel, Wanda Commercial Management, which was once valued at 130 billion yuan, was sold for just 60 billion in March of that year. Reports suggest that the buyer was part of the Red Aristocracy, descendants of high-ranking Communist Party officials. In April 2023, Wanda sold its Beijing headquarters to New China Life Insurance and ICC Capital. Shortly after, Wang Jianlin transferred 49 percent of Wanda investment to the film company Shanghai Ruyi, along with 180 million shares of Wanda Film to a mysterious woman named Lu Lili. He also transferred 177 million shares to Shenxiang Rongzhi, raising a total of 6.8 billion yuan. Meanwhile, Tencent acquired control of Wanda's 1,300 global cinemas, bringing in 63.1 billion yuan, all of which went towards repaying bank loans. Over the course of these efforts, Wanda paid off a staggering 600 billion yuan in debt. Even now, Wanda continues selling off assets to repay its creditors. Wang Jianlin's personal fortune has dwindled from over 200 billion yuan to just over 30 billion. The once-dominant real estate tycoon who shaped China's commercial landscape for a decade has long since lost his title as the nation's richest man. Some now say that the Wanda era has come to an end. In the past two years, insurance companies have repeatedly appeared in reports as the buyers of Wanda's assets. According to statistics from Linkshop, since May 2023, at least 30 Wanda plazas across China have been sold or renamed. The new owners, in most cases, are state-owned insurance companies. Looking at the buyers, it's clear they're either state-owned enterprises or figures connected to the red aristocracy. It's no surprise that some have described this process as the party looting Wanda, turning private assets into party-owned assets. Wang Jianlin once famously declared his small goal of earning 100 million yuan. Today, however, Wanda is on the brink of collapse. Under Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao, the party allowed some breathing room for private entrepreneurs. But under Xi Jinping, that space has grown increasingly constrained. Many believe that time is running out for Wanda and Wang Jianlin. Some observers even suggest Wanda has already been hollowed out and is now just another shell company, much like Evergrande before its spectacular crash. As for Wang Jianlin, some predict his fate might mirror that of Evergrande's Xu Jiayin, who was ultimately detained amid the property giant's collapse.