Chen Tianqiao | |
---|---|
陈天桥 | |
Born | 1973 (age 50–51) Xinchang County, Zhejiang, China |
Alma mater | Fudan University |
Occupation(s) | Co-founder of Shanda Group and Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute |
Organization(s) | Member of the 11th and 12th National Committees of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference |
Political party | Chinese Communist Party |
Spouse | Chrissy Luo |
Chen Tianqiao (Chinese: 陈天桥; pinyin: Chén Tiānqiáo); born 1973)[1] is a Chinese[2] businessman.[3][4][5][6] His wealth is estimated at US$4 billion.[7] Chen moved from Shanghai[8] to Singapore in 2009[1] and then to the Bay Area, California in 2017.[9] He co-founded the Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute in 2016.[1]
Chen was born in 1973[1] in a city in the Zhejiang Province, China.[10] With his father working as an engineer and his mother teaching middle school English, Chen and his younger brother Danian grew up near Shanghai. In 1993[6] He earned a bachelor's degree in economics from Fudan University.[8]
Chen joined the state-run property developer Shanghai Lujiazui Group in 1994, holding management positions[8] in the public relations office and also secretary of the chairman.[6] In 1998 he became vice director of the office of the president of Kinghing Trust & Investment.[8] Chen resigned from this role in 1999.[6]
He started Shanda Interactive Entertainment Limited as an online games company with his family in 1999.[3][6]
The company became the largest Internet company in China by market capitalization in 2004.[11] In 2004 Chen was second on China's Hurun Review rich list.[12]
China Central Television voted him their leading "Rising Business Star".[10] He was put on the 100 Innovators Under 35 list put out by the MIT Technology Review.[13]
Shanda Group went private in early 2012, with Chen, his wife, and his brother keeping a combined 57% stake.[6] In 2015, Chen, as the beneficial owner of Shanda Asset Management, acquired over 80,127 hectares of land in Oregon from Fidelity National Financial for US$85 million, making him one of the largest foreign owners of land in the United States.[14][15]
Tianqiao Chen and his family sold all their stakes in Shanda Games in November 2014,[citation needed] after which Shanda Group refocused on investing.[10]
With Chen remaining chairman[5] and CEO, by early 2017 Shanda Group was the majority shareholder of Legg Mason, Lending Club,[2] and Community Health Systems.[16][17] It also had property operations in China and North America[2] and stakes in companies such as Sotheby's. Shanda sold its stakes in Sotheby's in 2017[3] and then it sold its stake Legg Mason later that year, and then Chen resigned as vice-chairman of the Legg Mason board.[4] Chen has invested in the venture funds Propel(x) and Ubiquity Ventures.[18]
Ranked on various rich lists,[8][19] Chen personally had $4 billion in net value in 2017 and was ranked as the 93rd richest person in China, according to the Hurun Report.[7][20]
In 2018, Chen purchased 500,000 acres in Ontario.[21] The same year, the Committee of 100 gave Chen an award for Lifetime Achievement as Tech Entrepreneur.[22]
According to China Youth Daily, Chen joined the Chinese Communist Party at age 18 and was elected to the central committee of Communist Youth League of China in Shanghai.[23] In 2008, Chen was appointed to the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).[24][25] In 2013, Chen was appointed to the 12th National Committee of the CPPCC.[26][27]
Chen is chairman of the Shanda Group,[5] and is also on the boards of various portfolio companies.[4][28] Chen is married to Qianqian "Chrissy" Luo [6] who in 2022 joined the Board of Governors of the Huntington Library and Gardens[29] and the Board of Trustees of the California Academy of Sciences.[30] She is also a member of the China Leadership Board at the 21st Century China Center at University of California, San Diego.[31]
Chen and his wife Qianqian "Chrissy" Luo.[6] moved from Shanghai[8] to Singapore in 2009,[1] then from Singapore to the Bay Area of California in late 2017.[9] They are currently residents of Menlo Park, California.[32] Chen bought in 2018 for $39 million a historic mansion built for Alice Gwynne Vanderbilt in 1881 on East 69th Street in the Upper East Side of Manhattan.[33][34]