The life of Cecil Chao, who offered HK$1 billion dowry for lesbian daughter Gigi Chao
Real estate tycoon Cecil Chao is the chairman of Cheuk Nang Holdings. The playboy caused a furor in 2012, when he offered a $500 million dowry to any man able to win over his daughter Gigi—after she married her long-term girlfriend in a civil union. The 77-year-old tells Andrea Lo why he withdrew the bounty, and addresses longstanding rumors that he has slept with 10,000 women.
I was born in Shanghai. We came here in 1948, when the communists arrived. The family thought we were coming to Hong Kong for a short while, but we never moved back.
I’ve always liked drawing and design. You can choose to be a painter, but the chances of becoming a Van Gogh or Picasso aren’t so great.
After I graduated from university in England, I worked in the government’s architectural office.
There was an architectural competition. I won the prize, and set up my own practice.
I became an architect. I negotiated with developers, saying that instead of paying me, they should give me a couple of units instead. That’s how I started in the [property] business.
When people were working eight hours, I was working 13 to 14 hours. By my mid-30s, I had made a lot of money. I was very good-looking, and my family was well-established.