Wang Sicong Explained

Wang Sicong
Native Name Lang:zh-Hans-CN
Birth Date:3 January 1988
Birth Place:Dalian, Liaoning, China
Education:Winchester College
Occupation:CEO, Panda TV
Parents:Wang Jianlin, Lin Ning

Wang Sicong (Chinese: s=王思聪|p=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

Wang Sicong was born in Dalian, Liaoning, China, in 1988.[4] 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.[5]

When Wang was young, he attended Swiss Cottage Primary School in Singapore[6] and then entered Winchester College in United Kingdom. After graduating from Winchester College, he enrolled at the University College London (UCL) Department of Philosophy.[7] However, there is no evidence showing that he successfully obtained his BA degree from UCL.

Career

Wang is the chairman of Prometheus Capital, a private equity company[8] he founded with CNY500 million that his father gave to him 'for trial and error'.[9] [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

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. Sicong had a 40% share in the company. 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.

Public image

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

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]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Wang Sicong at it again, China's richest son blows 2.5 million RMB at KTV in single night. Shanghaiist. 18 October 2016.
  2. Web site: 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. Web site: Huang. Zheping. China's newest viral app pays users to ask celebrities nosy questions. Quartz.com. 7 June 2016 .
  4. Web site: Levin. Ned. Wang Sicong's uncensored microblogging highlights succession challenges at Dalian Wanda. Financial Times. 18 October 2016.
  5. https://www.forbes.com/profile/wang-jianlin/?list=china-billionaires China Rich List
  6. Web site: 新闻人间：王思聪 音量归零的大喇叭. 2019-11-09. www.kzaobao.com. 2024-07-01. zh.
  7. Web site: 起底"国民老公"王思聪留学履历(图)_新浪教育_新浪网. https://web.archive.org/web/20150718191005/http://edu.sina.com.cn/a/2015-03-04/0848258026.shtml. dead. 18 July 2015. 18 July 2015. 18 March 2019.
  8. Web site: Chan. Bernice. After IPO, Hong Kong's Dining Concepts CEO shares China growth plans. South China Morning Post. 6 October 2016 . 18 October 2016.
  9. Web site: Capital Markets Company Overview of Beijing-based Prometheus Capital. Bloomberg. 18 October 2016.
  10. Web site: Gao. Jing. Wang Jianlin's son, "The People's Husband," is also an aspiring VC. Allchinetech.com. 18 October 2016.
  11. Web site: 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. 16 June 2021. finance.sina.com.cn.
  12. Web site: 王思聪卸任万达集团董事，万达交接班仍不明朗. 2022-08-31. www.stcn.com/. 2024-07-01. zh.
  13. Web site: Xiang. Nina. Are China's Fuerdai Wisely Investing, Or Wasting Their Parents' Money?. Forbes. 18 October 2016.
  14. Web site: Over-the-top: Shanghai's first 7-star hotel is a museum of antiques. Hindustan Times. 18 October 2016.
  15. Web site: China's Richest Kid Spent Over $500 Million to Build Shanghai's First 7-Star Hotel. Nextshark. 15 June 2016 . 18 October 2016.
  16. Web site: Dalian Wanda scion opens ultra-luxurious hotel in Shanghai. CNBC. 17 June 2016 . 18 October 2016.
  17. Web site: Girl band T-ARA signs with Chinese magnate. The Korea Times. 20 August 2015 . 12 March 2017.
  18. Web site: EXID signs with China showbiz agency. The Korea Times. 12 January 2016 . 12 March 2017.
  19. Web site: 22 January 2021. Tencent-backed e-sports firm VSPN closes USD 60 million Series B+ round. 16 June 2021. KrASIA. en.
  20. Web site: 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. 2023-12-01. zh-cn.
  21. Web site: Huifeng. He. Son of China's richest man to launch Panda TV e-sports streaming service to rival Amazon's Twitch. 18 October 2016. South China Morning Post. 8 September 2015 .
  22. Web site: Watch out Amazon, China is launching a Twitch rival called Panda TV. 18 October 2016. Venture Beat. 8 September 2015 .
  23. Web site: Yuhong. Pang. China's Internet 'Stream Queens' Are Being Showered With Cash. 18 October 2016. Wall Street Journal.
  24. Web site: Frater. Patrick. 8 March 2019. China Live Streamer Panda TV to Close Down. 18 February 2021. Variety. en-US.
  25. Web site: 9 April 2019. Rise and fall of China's Twitch a cautionary tale for investors. 18 February 2021. South China Morning Post. en.
  26. Web site: hermesauto. 27 December 2019. Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin's son settles with creditors. 16 June 2021. The Straits Times. en.
  27. Web site: Zeng. Vivienne. Son of Asia's richest man, China's 'No.1 eligible bachelor', talks to BBC about freedom. Hong Kong Free Press. 28 August 2015 . 18 October 2016.
  28. Web site: Lau. Mimi. Son of China's richest man shows off eight iPhones he bought – for his dog. South China Morning Post. 21 September 2016 . 18 October 2016.
  29. Web site: Zuo. Mandy. He. Huifeng. 'Buxomgate': Western schooling to blame for my son's gaffe, says tycoon Wang Jianlin. South China Morning Post. 25 February 2015 . 18 October 2016.
  30. Web site: 16 June 2021. Scion of Dalian Wanda accused of sending abusive texts to online celebrity. 16 June 2021. South China Morning Post. en.
  31. News: 2 July 2015. Lifestyles of the rich and infamous. The Economist. 30 May 2021. 0013-0613.
  32. Web site: 2022-04-22 . Billionaire's son and influencer banned from posting on China's Twitter-like Weibo platform after questioning a Beijing-endorsed Covid drug . 2024-07-01 . Business Insider.

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