Chen Tianqiao
陈天桥
Chen in 2015
Born1973 (age 50–51)
Xinchang County, Zhejiang, China
Alma materFudan 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 partyChinese Communist Party
SpouseChrissy Luo

Chen Tianqiao (Chinese: 陈天桥; pinyin: Chén Tiānqiáo); born 1973)[1] is a Chinese[2] businessman and philanthropist.[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]

Early life and education

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]

Career

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, 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, the Committee of 100 gave Chen an award for Lifetime Achievement as Tech Entrepreneur.[21]

Politics

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.[22] In 2008, Chen was appointed to the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).[23][24] In 2013, Chen was appointed to the 12th National Committee of the CPPCC.[25][26]

Boards

Chen is chairman of the Shanda Group,[5] and is also on the boards of various portfolio companies.[4][27] Chen is married to Qianqian "Chrissy" Luo [6] who in 2022 joined the Board of Governors of the Huntington Library and Gardens [28] and the Board of Trustees of the California Academy of Sciences.[29] She is also a member of the China Leadership Board at the 21st Century China Center at University of California, San Diego.[30]

Philanthropy

Chen and his wife have donated money to medical programs, education, and disaster relief in China and Mongolia.[31] Chen and his wife created the Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute in 2016,[9] and set aside US$1 billion to the non-profit[32] to support fundamental brain research.[33] The non-profit has funded and partnered with the Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute for Neuroscience at Caltech,[9][32] and the Zhou Liangu Foundation and Huashan Hospital in Shanghai.[9] The couple was named Inside Philanthropy's 2017 Science Funders of the Year,[34] and that same year Chen was named one of Forbes Asia’s Heroes of Philanthropy.[35] According to Barron's, the Chens as of 2019 were dedicating much of their time to the institute, with a focus on "compiling data gathered from universities on post-doc programs into a white paper that should allow them to better understand the challenges postdocs face, including pressures to leave for industry." After the post-doctoral focus and a second documentary, Chen wanted the institute to "facilitate the integration of neuroscience, psychiatry, psychology, sociology, philosophy, and even religion" to study "who we are" as humans.[18]

Personal life

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.[36] 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.[37][38]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Missing China mogul reappears in Singapore with US$1 billion for brain research". Today. Archived from the original on 14 January 2024. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 Rashiwala, Kalpana (Jan 20, 2017). "Shanda gaming co-founder buys GCB for $23 million". The Business Times. Archived from the original on January 14, 2024. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 "Chinese billionaire with ambitions to reshape investment models". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 2024-01-14. Retrieved 2017-02-08.(subscription required) (published 12-26-2016)
  4. 1 2 3 "Billionaire's gamble on distressed US firm reflects growing confidence of Chinese investors". SCMP. 25 January 2018. Archived from the original on 14 January 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2019. (published 01-25-20)
  5. 1 2 3 "Chinese Donors Step Up Giving to American Universities". The Chronicle of Higher Education. (published 12-21-20)
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "House of Flying Fingers". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2024-01-14. Retrieved 2019-05-27. (published 05-23-20)
  7. 1 2 "Hurun Report Releases China Rich List 2017 in Association with 36G". Hurun Report. (published 10-12-2018)
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "The World's Billionaires: #828 Chen Tianqiao". Forbes. 3 October 2010. Archived from the original on 14 January 2024. Retrieved 24 June 2010.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 "With A New Gift, Chinese Games Billionaire Takes Step To Treat Brain Diseases". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2020-09-25. Retrieved 2018-12-14. (published 11-02-2017)
  10. 1 2 3 "Chen Tianqiao: the billionaire funding brain research". Moneyweek. 8 September 2017. Archived from the original on 14 January 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2019. (published 09-09-20)
  11. ↑ "Chinese donors fund studies into acceptance of death". The Financial Times. Archived from the original on 2024-01-14. Retrieved 2019-05-27. (published 12-06-20)
  12. ↑ "If I was a lowly official they would be proud". The Guardian. 8 November 2004. Archived from the original on 14 January 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2019. (published 11-08-20)
  13. ↑ "The Complete TR100". MIT Technology Review. Archived from the original on 2024-01-14. Retrieved 2019-05-27. (published 10-01-20)
  14. ↑ Pendleton, Devon (January 8, 2024). "Chinese Billionaire Is Second-Biggest Foreign Owner of US Land". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on 2024-01-14. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  15. ↑ O'Keefe, Eric (2024-01-08). "Tianqiao Chen Joins Land Report 100 with 198,000 Acres". The Land Report. Retrieved 2024-01-13.
  16. ↑ "Billionaire's gamble on distressed US firm reflects growing confidence of Chinese investors". South China Morning Press. 25 January 2018. Archived from the original on 14 January 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2019. (published 01-25-2018)
  17. ↑ "Barkholz, D. Chen's 22% CHS stake carries clout – with or without a board seat. Modern Healthcare". Modern Healthcare. 17 August 2017. (published 08-17-2017)
  18. 1 2 Barron's Archived 2024-01-14 at the Wayback Machine accessed November 13, 2019
  19. ↑ "China's Richest: #10 Chen Tianqiao". Forbes. Archived from the original on 14 January 2024. Retrieved 24 June 2011. (2005)
  20. ↑ "Hurun Report Global Rich List 2014". Hurun Report. Archived from the original on 2014-08-31. Retrieved 2014-08-21. (published 2014)
  21. ↑ "Committee of 100 honors leaders who advanced U.S.-China relations". Asian American Press. (published 06-03-20)
  22. ↑ "从团干部到企业家有多远" [How far is it from a league cadre to an entrepreneur?]. China Youth Daily (in Chinese). 13 November 2007. Archived from the original on 14 November 2007. Retrieved 2024-01-13.
  23. ↑ "十一届全国政协委员职务和界别情况（7）" [Positions and sectors of members of the 11th CPPCC National Committee]. Government of China (in Chinese). February 27, 2008. Archived from the original on 3 March 2008. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  24. ↑ "第十一届全国政协委员名单" [List of members of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference] (in Chinese). Xinhua News Agency. 3 March 2009. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013.
  25. ↑ "中国人民政治协商会议第十二届全国委员会委员名单" [List of members of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference]. People's Daily (in Chinese). June 26, 2014. Archived from the original on 2017-09-23. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  26. ↑ "中国人民政治协商会议第十二届全国委员会委员名单" [List of members of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference]. Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (in Chinese). February 26, 2014. Archived from the original on 2018-01-06. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  27. ↑ "BRIEF-Legg Mason appoints Tianqiao Chen and Robert Chiu to its board". Reuters. (published 01-31-2017)
  28. ↑ Reindorp, Jason (September 7, 2022). "Trustees & Governors | The Huntington". Huntington.org. Archived from the original on January 14, 2024. Retrieved September 7, 2022.
  29. ↑ Reindorp, Jason (September 7, 2022). "Leadership | California Academy of Sciences". www.calacademy.org. Archived from the original on January 14, 2024. Retrieved September 7, 2022.
  30. ↑ Reindorp, Jason. "Board description - list includes Chrissy Luo". UCSD Website. Archived from the original on 2024-01-14. Retrieved 2023-01-30.
  31. ↑ "China's Rising Philanthropy Presents the Next Big Brain Science Donor". Inside Philanthropy. 13 December 2016. Archived from the original on 7 November 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019. (published 12-13-20)
  32. 1 2 "How a mind-controlled robotic arm paved the way for Caltech's new neuroscience institute", Los Angeles Times, Dec 6, 2016, archived from the original on November 8, 2020, retrieved January 3, 2019
  33. ↑ O'Connor, Helen (2016). "Caltech About Page". Caltech.edu. Archived from the original on 2024-01-14. Retrieved 2023-01-30.
  34. ↑ "Philanthropy Awards, 2017", Inside Philanthropy, 27 December 2017, archived from the original on 18 July 2019, retrieved 4 January 2019
  35. ↑ "Asia's 2017 Heroes Of Philanthropy", Forbes, Jun 28, 2017, archived from the original on October 9, 2020, retrieved January 4, 2019
  36. ↑ "A Chinese Billionaire Is Using His Fortune to Unlock the Human Brain". Bloomberg. 21 August 2018. Archived from the original on 2024-01-14. Retrieved 2019-05-27. (published 12-21-2018)
  37. ↑ Marino, Vivian (29 March 2018). "A Surge of High-Priced Closings, Including a Sale by Harvey Weinstein". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2019. (published 03-29-20)
  38. ↑ "Online Gaming Billionaire Buys New York City 'Vanderbilt Mansion' For $39 Million". Archived from the original on 2024-01-14. Retrieved 2020-10-26. (published 03-15-18)
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