Beijing’s real-life Crazy Rich Asians: from Wang Sicong to Wang Shuo – Zhou Xun’s boyfriend, once romantically linked to Fan Bingbing – meet 4 young Chinese billionaires living their best lives

Oct 16 , 2020

China’s Crazy Rich Asians, from left to right: Wang Ke, Pan Rui, Wang Sicong and Wang Shuo. Photos: Baidu, Sohu, Baidu, Sina

Billionaire Wang Zhicai’s son was once rumoured to have spent US$119,000 on a watch to woo Fan Bingbing and is Jaycee Chan’s BFF; Wang Jianlin’s son owns supercars including a Porsche 918 Spyder and a US$3 million Pagani Huayra

In imperial China, people often used the term “The four young masters of Jingcheng” (the Forbidden City) to describe the most eligible bachelors in the Chinese capital. It usually referred to those who were born into prestigious families and possessed great wealth and status.

Today, netizens have carried on the tradition by identifying the 21st century’s most prestigious Chinese men. And while the unofficial list has undergone a few changes as the individuals in question have experienced personal ups and downs, these four have held firm as the most well-known.

Wang Sicong

Born in 1988, Wang Sicong is the son of China’s one-time richest man Wang Jianlin, who is chairman of Dalian Wanda Group and has a reported net worth of US$14 billion. The Chinese conglomerate’s business spans real estate, cinemas and film production, and also holds a stake in international cinema chain AMC. While the family’s wealth has dropped tremendously in recent years, they still ranked at number 14 on Forbes’ 2019 list of China’s richest.

The younger Wang is known for his enormous wealth and unfiltered comments about the entertainment industry. He often takes to his Weibo account to correct gossip about Chinese celebrities, regardless of their level of fame. Dubbed “the national husband” by Chinese netizens, he’s often seen out and about with young models and internet celebrities (known as “wanghong”).

Passionate about supercars, he owns several Rolls-Royces, Aston Martins, Bentleys, a Porsche 918 Spyder – and a Pagani Huayra which cost a cool US$3 million.

Pan Rui

Pan Rui is the son of real estate tycoon Pan Shiyi and his first wife. Pan co-founded real estate company Soho China with his third wife Zhang Xin, who are worth a combined US$3.2 billion and ranked at number 107 on Forbes’ China Rich List 2019. Born in 1990, Pan Rui graduated from the UK’s University of Warwick and married his college girlfriend Liao Jing in 2014 at a lavish wedding ceremony held by the Great Wall.

Liao also comes from an elite family – her father is the vice chancellor of a university in Jiangxi province as well as chairman of a technology company. Despite the two families’ incredible wealth, Pan Rui, unlike most money-squandering “fuerdai” (second generation rich kids), lives a low profile life, while his wife Liao also has established her own F&B business.