Embattled Vanke chairman Wang Shi no stranger to headlines
Real estate tycoon has sought to portray himself as a self-made entrepreneur, leaving out fact father-in-law was Guangdong’s deputy party chief
Over the course of three decades, real estate tycoon Wang Shi has sought to portray himself in the media as an idealistic, self-made entrepreneur.
After forming China Vanke, now China’s biggest home builder in 1984, he gave up his share ownership when the company went public in 1991, later choosing to become a professional manager.
While the business boomed, he handed actual power to another man, the company’s president Yu Liang, and became board chairman.
Already in his 60s, he led a young person’s lifestyle, climbing mountains, rowing and studying. Most controversially, he also started dating an actress 30 years his junior.
The most often repeated part of the media hagiographies was that he never bribed officials. His company also refrained from hoarding land or bidding up prices, common practices in the industry, Wang claimed in many public speeches and interviews.
He made his first bucket of gold trading corn from northeastern China to Shenzhen in the 1980s, the story went, neglecting to mention he was also the son-in-law of a senior provincial party official.
This month’s takeover attempt by Baoneng Group is not the first time Wang’s seat of power at Vanke has come under threat.