Chapter 636
The Problem of Succession
By 2001, the dot-com bubble had largely deflated, and the global internet market capitalization had decreased by nearly $5 trillion.
In this bubble, the Chen family amassed $700 billion in wealth, becoming the biggest winner.
Of course, the so-called 'Chen family' is actually distributed in many countries and is part of local conglomerates of many nationalities.
For example, Japan's Chiba Investment Bank cashed out more than 20 billion US dollars from the internet and several billion US dollars from overseas telecommunications, bringing back a huge fortune of 30 billion US dollars; and the Chiba Group is one of Japan's newly emerging top ten conglomerates, with Chen Wenying being a Japanese tycoon.
For example, Chen Wenhai cashed out nearly 10 billion US dollars. He is a Chinese American who has long been integrated into the local society and was married to an American woman (who is now divorced).
For example, the 'Chen Guangliang Family Office' also cashed out US$140 billion, which was accomplished through various means such as diversification and offshore operations. The cashed-out funds were mainly used to purchase physical gold.
Finally, there are the other scattered members and businesses of the Chen Guangliang family, which together amount to a considerable sum, and these were also cashed out through dispersed or offshore methods.
79 Deep Water Bay.
No. 79 Deep Water Bay, which has undergone three reconstructions or major renovations, is now home to four generations of the Chan family: Chan Kwong-leung and Yim Yan-mei, Chan Man-kit and Chuang Yuen-ching, and Chan Chak-yui and his wife and their children.
The eldest grandson, Chen Zerui, is already 43 years old this year, and his eldest son, Chen Chuanxian, is 17 years old and will soon be going to the United States to study at university.
Four generations living under one roof.
Chen Guangliang doesn't pursue "six generations under one roof," but "five generations under one roof" is a foregone conclusion, after all, he is sure to live a long life.
On the other hand, his sons and grandsons did not get married and have children early, mostly after the age of 25, so it was impossible for them to have 'six generations under one roof'.
Chan Kwong-leung has rarely lived at 79 Deep Water Bay in recent years because he doesn't like things to be too lively. So he usually lives on a yacht or vacations at the Chan family villa complex in Discovery Bay.
Today is New Year's Day.
However, Chen Guangliang would not allow the 'entire family members' to gather together again, as this was to avoid any potential risks.
Starting in the 1990s, he stopped allowing all family members to gather together and instead implemented a system of 'regular gatherings of second-generation family members,' 'regular gatherings of third-generation family members,' 'regular gatherings of fourth-generation family members and their mothers,' and 'regular gatherings of two members from each branch of the family.'
In this way, family members remain familiar with each other and maintain good contact and relationships.
However, Chen Guangliang also had to admit one thing: the second generation of family members were the most united; the third generation of family members maintained a relatively close relationship, but remained highly united when cooperating or when invaded by outsiders.
“Great-Grandpa, you look just as young as Grandpa!” Chen Zerui’s little girl said in a childlike voice.
"Haha," Chen Guangliang laughed, picking up his great-granddaughter and placing her on his lap, saying, "Yinyin is very good at talking."
Chen Zerui and his wife have four children: two sons and two daughters. Their family is no longer pressuring them to have more children. After all, he has two younger brothers, and Chen Wenjie already has six grandsons, double the number of his three sons.
In terms of the number of male offspring, Chen Wenming, the second son of Yan Renmei, the first wife, is probably the most outstanding. Chen Wenming has four sons and already has ten grandsons, making him the strongest in terms of genetic inheritance.
However, the genes of the third generation can at least guarantee a 50/50 male-to-female ratio in the fourth generation, so having four children can be considered as spreading the family line.
Chen Wenjie chuckled from the side, "That's the truth."
To be honest, the descendants also have the same idea: their father/grandfather/great-grandfather must like to be praised for making them look young.
As people get older, they still refuse to admit they're old!
Chen Guangliang put down his great-granddaughter and asked his son, Chen Wenjie, "How are you feeling?"
Chen Wenjie said earnestly, "He can work until he's over seventy without any problem; it all depends on Ze Rui's performance over the next few years."
Chen Guangliang then said, "Don't follow my example and try to slack off. I think you'll have to wait until at least 2008!"
Chen Wenjie immediately replied, "No problem, that's what I thought too."
In 2008, Chan Man-kit was 75 years old, which is considered early retirement among Hong Kong's wealthy, as many work into their eighties.
Moreover, after the turn of the millennium, Chen Wenjie had already stepped down from his position as general manager of the group, which was also a way of ensuring a smooth transition.
At this time, Chen Zerui had only been the general manager for a year and had already shown a certain degree of 'aggression', namely, he began to carry out acquisitions and development overseas.
Of course, Chen Zerui is more composed than Cheng Kar-shun of New World Development back then, and the assets he acquired were in line with the direction set by the family elders.
For example, Chen Zerui is currently acquiring Norlanda Corporation, a mining company in Canada. If the acquisition is successful, Hutchison Whampoa will merge Norlanda and Eagle Bridge Corporation, creating a mining company that is among the world's top ten and the world's third largest copper/zinc/nickel mining company.
Of course, there were many other acquisitions, including investments in Indian telecoms and South Korean ports and terminals. Cheung Kong Holdings' development can be described as having a lot of cash on hand and being in a good era of opportunity.
What Chen Guangliang needed to do was to have Cheung Kong Holdings cash out some assets or reduce investments in advance in 2007.
Just after New Year's Day, Chen Guangliang was 'disturbed' by a phone call, and he later took a private jet to New York.
In a villa in New York, his former daughter-in-law Julie helped him into the hall.
"Dad, would you like to wash up?"
"No need. I came by private jet, the journey won't affect me. Just tell me what's wrong, and I'll definitely take care of it for you!"
Julie was his son Chen Wenhai's ex-wife. Although they had been divorced for over a year, she was still the mother of his four grandchildren. Since she had come to him for help, he naturally had to help her.
"Wenhai has a girlfriend who is pregnant, and I'm worried it will affect Zekang and the others!"
Upon hearing this, Chen Guangliang did not immediately express his opinion.
Chen Wenhai is a charming and debonair man who has a thing for foreign women, especially blondes and blue-eyed women. He has just tasted the sweetness of this and believes that it is not a man's fault.
Or perhaps, all men make this mistake.
As for Chen Wenhai's girlfriend's pregnancy, it's his grandson after all. Does he really want to interfere?
Of course, Jolie showed great respect to her parents-in-law back then and followed their advice to leave peacefully with a billion-dollar trust fund, which was also a gesture of goodwill; moreover, Jolie is still the mother of his four grandchildren, and everyone has a good relationship, which is also something to consider.
"To be honest, this is only natural for a man, especially since the Chen family has excellent genes. It's normal for Wenhai to have such thoughts."
Upon hearing this, Julie became anxious and quickly said, "You promised me that you would guarantee my four children's inheritance rights. Dad, those four grandchildren are also grandchildren you've known for many years; they're closer to you." Back then, in order to have a peaceful separation and to ensure Julie took less of the family wealth, Chen Guangliang had indeed made some promises.
"Yes, I know all that. Don't worry, I'll have Wenhai set up a trust with $100 billion in assets right away, with Zekang and the others as the only beneficiaries. As long as I'm alive, he won't dare to do anything reckless."
Julie was overjoyed upon hearing this.
She and Chen Wenhai divorced in 1999. At that time, she knew Chen Wenhai's wealth was around $180 billion. However, with the arrival of the dot-com bubble, she believed that $10 billion was the vast majority of Chen Wenhai's wealth. (It is evident that she made a significant concession by leaving with $100 billion, especially considering the relationship with her four children and in-laws.)
"Dad, I have no intention of getting married, but I've met quite a few people. Don't worry, I won't embarrass you!"
It seems to be saying that she will not have any more children. Of course, she is already 49 years old this year, so it is impossible for her to pursue that kind of thing anymore.
"Okay. If anything happens in the future, you can tell me and your mom. We've been the closest family for over twenty years, and we still are."
He did not stay overnight. Although Julie was living alone and did not have a boyfriend at home, he left to avoid suspicion and arranged to meet Chen Wenhai and his children at the villa on Long Island.
Chen Wenhai is the youngest son of Jiang Meiying's second wife. He is 49 years old this year. His eldest son, Chen Zekang, is 23 years old and works at a major investment bank on Wall Street.
Starting in August 1999, Chen Wenhai cashed out $10 billion from companies such as Microsoft, Oracle, and Apple, demonstrating a very strong cash flow.
In addition, Chen Wenhai remains a director of Apple Inc., holding approximately 8% of the shares; furthermore, he is the owner of Blizzard Entertainment, which is one of his main businesses now.
"The funds cashed out from the internet were not reinvested, were they?"
Chen Wenhai immediately replied, "No. You didn't give any signal, and the bursting of the bubble will take time. I've been waiting for an opportunity."
Chen Guangliang nodded and then said, "Then let's take out 100 billion US dollars to set up a father-son trust fund, with you and your four children as beneficiaries. I'll give you some ideas to help you develop in a long-term and stable way."
He didn't mention Julie, but he could still secure benefits for his four grandchildren.
Upon hearing this, Chen Wenhai replied without hesitation, "Thank you for your concern, Father. I will listen to you!"
From childhood to adulthood, his admiration and respect for his father remained unchanged. Back then, because of his relationship issues, he was always worried about being beaten and scolded by his father, so he could only maintain a superficial harmony with his ex-wife until he could no longer hide the truth and dared to confess.
“Okay, then you should set up a trust fund for this as soon as possible, and I will have Wenjin oversee it.”
Chen Wenjin, his elder brother, naturally held great prestige within the second branch of the family.
Then, Chen Guangliang looked at Chen Zekang and said, "Are you interested in the development of the game industry?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Zekang immediately understood his grandfather's intention and said, "I have done some research on the gaming industry, and I personally believe that online games have a bright future. Hong Kong and the United States are among the leaders in this field."
Chen Guangliang said with satisfaction, "Study hard for another year, then you can go and work hard at Blizzard Entertainment."
Yes, Grandpa.
Chen Wenhai finally realized something was wrong; his father had bypassed him and directly arranged the succession.
According to his father's stated intentions, he has three main assets: the first part is the billions of dollars in cash flow he has cashed out and some scattered investments; the second part is his shares in Apple and his founding board seat; and the third part is Blizzard Entertainment, a top-tier game company with top IPs such as Warcraft, StarCraft, Diablo, and The Sims.
The fact that the father has now involved his children in both parts of the assets clearly speaks volumes.
After the four children left, Chen Wenhai said, "Father, I..."
Chen Guangliang waved his hand and said, "No need to say more. I'm a man too. I just want you to understand that you need to distinguish between what's important and what's not."
"I see"
Chen Wenhai also knew that his father had mistresses in addition to his four wives and concubines. But his father always reserved the best wealth and opportunities for his four wives, while his mistresses were worth billions.
At this moment, he calmed down considerably. You see, when he was with his girlfriend and when he was about to become a father again, he had some doubts. At least he thought he wouldn't mistreat the child who was about to arrive.
The matter was finally settled, and Chen Wenhai continued to obey his father's every word, which put Chen Guangliang at ease.
It's important to know that Chen Wenhai is destined to become a true billionaire with assets exceeding hundreds of billions of dollars.
First, he is a major shareholder of Apple. Even if he reduces his holdings in the future, he can still guarantee at least 2% of the equity. In a market value of $3.5 trillion, that would be $60-70 billion.
Secondly, he is the owner of Blizzard Entertainment, which owns many IPs, including the Simulation series, which will be worth hundreds of billions of dollars in the future.
These two assets alone are enough to make him a billionaire.
Therefore, Chen Guangliang hopes that Chen Wenhai and his four children from his first marriage can share the majority of the wealth, rather than letting the wealth flow into his rare 'illegitimate grandson'.
Two days later.
The entire family of the second branch gathered on Long Island to reunite with Chen Guangliang. At this moment, everyone put aside their work and discussed and exchanged ideas together.
The situation in the second branch is similar to that in the third branch, which is that the family is quite large. The second generation has four members (only counting members of the Chen family), the third generation has nine sons and four daughters, and the fourth generation has already begun.
The eldest son, Chen Wenjin, currently owns three businesses: Sheraton Hotels & Resorts (one of the world's top three hotel groups), Amazon Shopping Centers (112 shopping centers), and Amazon Realty (which owns more than 20 skyscrapers in Manhattan alone).
Because only Sheraton Hotels & Resorts is publicly listed, Chen Wenjin's apparent net worth is only a little over ten billion US dollars, which doesn't place him among America's top billionaires. Furthermore, Chen Wenjin's eldest son is already 41 years old and is about to take over the Amazon Shopping Center brand.
The second daughter, Chen Leyi, and her husband, Tang Wensheng, remain the founders and major shareholders of Amgen Biopharmaceuticals, but they have been reducing their holdings over the years, and now they only hold slightly more than 20% of the shares.
The second son, Chen Wenhua, on the advice of Chen Guangliang, gave up the competition with Buffett, reduced his stake in United Madison at its peak, and mainly adopted a "hide your strength and bide your time" approach, with his actual assets on the surface only about 40% (more than $130).
The youngest son, Chen Wenhai, will not be discussed.
For his four children, Chen Guangliang only needed to teach them the trick of 'long-term holding' to ensure that their future wealth would all be over $1000. Moreover, he could still hide more than half of their wealth.
While the family was reunited, Chen Guangliang also discussed the issue of 'inheritance' with his three sons and one daughter/son-in-law. Individual inheritance was the only way for the second generation, but by the third generation, 'trust funds' had become the main method.
This was also a strategic plan devised by Chen Guangliang based on his assessment of the situation, because the third generation had shifted to a strategy of primarily 'defense' with 'offense' as a secondary approach, or even just 'defense'.
Therefore, a trust fund is the best way to pass on wealth. (End of Chapter)