A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

In early November.

The new Shangri-La Hotel on Conduit Road has officially opened.

The Shangri-La Hotel on Des Voeux Road has ceased operations.

To be honest, the only five-star hotel in Hong Kong that dares to move from its original location, now or in the future, is probably the Shangri-La Hotel.

In fact, prior to this, the Hong Kong government had intended to transfer the other half of the land for the 'New World Centre' to the Peninsula Hotel to remedy the original agreement with the Peninsula Hotel that no buildings could obstruct the view in front of the Peninsula Hotel. However, the Peninsula Hotel did not intend to relocate, so the Hong Kong government gradually sold the 200,000 square feet of land to New World Development at a low price, hoping that New World Development would invest in a landmark building.

The relocation of the Shangri-La Hotel was decided by Chan Kwong-leung. After all, the reclaimed land on Conduit Road is one of the best locations in Hong Kong in the future; the fact that it has always been free of direct obstructions in front of it (the International Finance Centre in later years was not a straight obstruction, it was not directly in front of it) was enough to make Chan Kwong-leung interested.

In addition, the area is a full 5.3 square feet, which is the standard floor area for a skyscraper.

The new Shangri-La Hotel has 56 floors and a total floor area of ​​80 square feet.

In reality, the site has a usable covered area ratio of 65%, but to ensure sufficient sunlight for the streets, the project actually only used about 39.9% of the land. The Shangri-La Hotel will retain approximately 3000 square meters of land to create the Shangri-La Hotel Plaza, adding a large public recreational area to Hong Kong's Central district. Of course, this area is also part of the hotel, so guests' vehicles can drive directly into the hotel lobby entrance.

On the opening day of the new Shangri-La Hotel, celebrities from all over the city flocked to the site, and traffic police and luxury cars were a common sight on the nearby roads.

Governor Murray MacLehose also attended the reception in person. The significance of this building is not only that it is a luxury five-star hotel under the Cheung Kong Group, but also that it is a landmark building on both sides of Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong.

In order to support the 'landmark buildings' on both sides of Victoria Harbour, the Hong Kong government sold 20 square feet of land to New World Development at a low price. This is what they need for Hong Kong to have a calling card.

The Shangri-La Hotel was built without the Hong Kong government spending a single penny. On the contrary, the land was auctioned off for a record price, and now the government has acquired a top-tier landmark building.

To put it bluntly, with the completion of the new Shangri-La Hotel site, the land value on both sides of Victoria Harbour will increase.

And at this time.

An ocean liner pulled into the Kowloon Wharf pier and then approached a group of tourists visiting Hong Kong, all of whom were from overseas. As they disembarked, they all looked towards Victoria Harbour and the Central district in the distance.

"Look, that skyscraper is so beautiful!"

"My God, it's so beautiful, it looks like a sailboat."

"I've been to New York, and I thought only New York had such beautiful buildings. I never expected Hong Kong to have them too!"

One tourist asked the tour guide, "Tour guide, what's that building for? Is it an office building?"

The tour guide smiled and said, "No, no, no, that's a five-star hotel—the Shangri-La Hotel. This hotel originated in the Far Eastern city of Sheung Ho Tan in the 1930s and gradually moved to Hong Kong after World War II. Today, the Shangri-La Hotel is the most luxurious hotel brand in Hong Kong and Singapore."

A tourist from Singapore said, "I know the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore is very large and magnificent. But today, the Shangri-La Hotel in Hong Kong seems to be the most magnificent!"

At that time, skyscrapers were still quite unfamiliar to Asia. The Shangri-La Hotel was the first skyscraper in Asia to exceed 40 stories, and it stands at a height of 56 stories.

A reporter quickly captured this scene and, posing as a tourist, reported on the Shangri-La Hotel.

Meanwhile, the Shangri-La Hotel was hosting guests from home and abroad, with CK Asset Holdings Limited's General Manager, Chen Wenjie, making an appearance. Although Chen Guangliang was also present, he no longer needed to personally receive guests; he simply chatted and laughed with some friends.

Governor Murray MacLehose said with a smile, "Seeing the completion of the Shangri-La Hotel, I think Hong Kong's economy will also rise steadily, just like the Shangri-La Hotel!"

Last year, Hong Kong's GDP exceeded HK$520 billion, with per capita GDP reaching HK$1.2. That year's growth was 2.4%, but the oil crisis at that time wasn't the worst; this year should be.

Chen Guangliang responded with a smile: "Judging from the economic situation in the first half of the year, Hong Kong's economy has recovered very quickly. I expect it to grow by two or three percentage points this year, and the annual growth rate will not be less than 10% in the future."

The surrounding distinguished guests from home and abroad erupted in incredulous exclamations. This year is actually the most severe since the oil crisis, with numerous lingering effects. If Hong Kong can achieve economic growth, it demonstrates its strong recovery capabilities.

And then GDP grew by no less than 10% annually, which is such an incredible growth rate that it is hard for other countries/regions to imagine.

In fact, Chan Kwong-leung is not exaggerating. He is a pillar of Hong Kong's economy and knows more about GDP growth than those experts.

另外一方面，实际上前世在这一时期也是增长最快的时候：1974年GDP是450亿，人均突破万元；1976年GDP是600亿，人均1.33万；1978年GDP是816亿，人均1.74万；1980年GDP是1367亿，人均2.7万港币。每年的增幅，分别是百分之2.4、0.5、16.2、11.7、8.3、11.6、10.1，即1976年增幅最快。

Seeing everyone's exclamations, MacLehose immediately joked, "Sir Chan's remarks only represent his position as a business leader and do not represent the Hong Kong government."

Chen Guangliang immediately added, "Yes, yes, my comments only represent my personal opinion!"

At this point, someone said, "But Sir Chan, your major companies are a good indicator of Hong Kong's economic situation."

“I don’t deserve it”

Chen Guangliang's humility is obvious to everyone; it's not genuine humility, but rather confidence within and humility without.

Of course, with Chen Guangliang's recommendation, overseas investors will also flock to Hong Kong to invest, and this wave of overseas investors is quite large.

Two weeks later, Chen Guangliang appeared at his villa on Long Island, New York, for a family gathering with the second branch of the family.

In the second branch of the family, Chan Man-kam and Kelly have five children, the eldest of whom is 15 years old; Chan Lok-yee and Tong Wing-sing have two sons and have no intention of having more children because Chan Lok-yee married and had children late in life and is getting older; Chan Man-wah and Alice currently have three children; as for the youngest, Chan Man-hai, he is ten years younger than Chan Man-wah and is only 23 years old this year, and he has already had several girlfriends.

Chen Yang, a second-generation member of the Chen family, knew that his father had a "family rule": you can date as many people as you want before you get married, but you must choose an excellent partner, and after marriage you must be a dutiful husband or wife.

Inside the villa, everyone chatted and laughed, temporarily forgetting about work.

Three days later, Chen Guangliang summoned the second generation of family members to a meeting room, including his daughter-in-law and son-in-law.

Both of Chen Guangliang's foreign daughters-in-law have made some contributions to the family. For example, Kelly's father is a politician and can introduce Chen Wenjin to many connections; Alice's father is a businessman in New York and can also introduce Chen Wenhua to some connections.

These connections may not be used, but they will definitely benefit both families, especially Kelly's father, who directly helped Chen Wenjin's career.

In the conference room.

Chen Guangliang began by saying, "Today's meeting will discuss some issues facing your second branch of the family, mainly that you've started to act rather ostentatiously."

Everyone's expressions turned serious. Although they didn't sense it, they always had complete faith in their father's judgment.

As the eldest son of the second wife, Chen Wenjin spoke first, saying, "It is indeed a bit ostentatious. We thought it was a bumper year before, but now that I think about it, if four outstanding Chinese billionaires emerge in the United States in a short period of time, it would be hard not to attract attention."

Chen Leyi said, "Amgen Biopharmaceuticals is a company that benefits humanity, so becoming a little famous shouldn't be a big problem!"

Chen Wenhua continued, "My company has already gone public, and its development has indeed been rapid, attracting considerable attention on Wall Street."

During this period, United Madison was even more powerful than Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway; how could it not have a significant influence on Wall Street? Chen Wenhai said, "I'm just a tech guy; I never wanted to be famous."

Jiang Meiying remained silent. She was actually quite well-known, having long been considered one of the wealthiest Chinese Americans. While the media hadn't officially reported her by name, there were rumors that the richest Chinese American wasn't one of the four major families, but rather a Chinese American woman.

Kelly asked suspiciously, "Our family are all legitimate business people who pay taxes according to the law, so why do we have these concerns?"

Chen Guangliang smiled and said to his daughter-in-law, "You haven't fully grasped Chinese culture yet. Let me tell you a common saying—'People are afraid of becoming famous, just as pigs are afraid of getting fat.' Your husband will explain it to you in more detail later."

Kelly smiled and said, "Father, I'm starting to understand!"

Subsequently.

Chen Guangliang said, "Wenjin, your Amazon Group will never consider going public, at least not for the shopping mall and office building businesses. Continue developing the shopping malls step by step, and only enter the office building business when prices are low. As for how to integrate the hotel group in the future, we'll decide that later!"

Chen Wenjin immediately replied, "Yes, Father! At Amazon, I make full use of professional managers and local talent, and avoid a high-profile approach."

Chen Guangliang nodded; the eldest sons of both families were reliable individuals.

He continued, “Wensheng, Leyi, your Amgen Biopharmaceutical could consider going public in a year or two. Raise a huge amount of capital to continue developing new projects. For example, regarding drugs for treating stomach ulcers, it is said that a little-known British company—SmithKline—has a laboratory under its wing developed an orally administered and safe H2 receptor blocker—cimetidine (cimetidine), which has been in clinical trials for several years. You should follow their approach, but you also need to develop a gastric acid inhibitor. I understand that there is a proton pump in gastric acid; if you successfully develop a proton pump inhibitor, it will be very effective for stomach ulcers.”

Tang Wensheng had already taken careful notes, and then said earnestly, "Thank you for your guidance, father-in-law."

Chen Guangliang waved his hand and said, "I only know the general direction, and you don't need to remember that it was me who pointed it out."

"it is good"

Once Amgen Biopharmaceutical goes public, its market value will likely be in the billions of US dollars, and in the future, it could easily reach tens or hundreds of billions of US dollars.

Jiang Meiying will naturally look for opportunities to reduce her shareholding in the future, as it is not good for the family to hold too much shares.

Chen Guangliang then said to Chen Wenhua, "Do a good job."

Chen Wenhua immediately straightened his back and said, "Yes, Father, I will be cautious! In particular, I will adhere to the principles of value investing and develop steadily."

His father was a key factor in his success.

In addition to co-owning Madison, a publicly traded company (holding a 46% stake), he also has some personal investments and is quite wealthy.

Finally, Chen Guangliang said to Chen Wenhai, "Focus on developing console games and contributing to the development of the game industry."

"Yes, father"

In fact, Chen Guangliang would give Chen Wenhai some private advice, such as looking for opportunities to invest in Microsoft and Apple.

The best plan for Chen Wenhai is to work hard to develop a world-class game console and find an opportunity to sell the company to someone else at a high price. At the same time, he can become an investor in technology companies in the future. For example, he would definitely invest in Apple, since Steve Jobs is still his employee.

Finally, Chen Guangliang said with a smile, "Actually, there's another way to avoid such risks, which is to have more children. Of course, you're all doing a great job right now!"

Everyone laughed, and the atmosphere became relaxed.

Kelly is undoubtedly the one who adheres to this principle the most, and she has now given birth to four sons and one daughter for Chen Wenjin.

Alice was not to be outdone; she also planned to have at least four children, and would consider having a fifth depending on her physical condition.

After hearing these words, Chen Leyi seemed to be deep in thought.

On her way back, she told Tang Wensheng, "Amgen Biopharmaceuticals is preparing to recruit an outstanding CEO to lead the future IPO process. I'm planning to have another child!"

Tang Wensheng quickly said, "Leyi, we already have two sons, we're very happy. Besides, you're 37 years old, don't take any more risks!"

Chen Leyi looked at Tang Wensheng seriously and said, "Is that really what you think? You know, with your father in charge, Amgen Biopharmaceuticals is bound to become a global pharmaceutical giant. Moreover, your father has designated this company as the 'Tang Family Enterprise.' Don't you have any thoughts about starting a large family business?"

Tang Wensheng smiled wryly, "Leyi! Everyone in your family is a genius. What can I compare myself to? I've never even thought of that. If it weren't for my father-in-law, I would just be a research engineer at Pfizer, and I wouldn't have achieved such remarkable success in the field of biology. How could I not see myself clearly! Including you, I know that if it weren't for the relationship between my father-in-law and my father, I wouldn't have been able to marry such an outstanding and beautiful girl like you!"

Chen Leyi chuckled and said, "You're smart enough to know what's good for you! But what I just said wasn't a suggestion, it was an order."

Tang Wensheng quickly straightened up, but still asked worriedly, "Your body?"

“My body is better than yours; it’s a gene from the Chen family. Even if our children only have half of my genes, they can easily get a doctorate like you.”

Tang Wensheng had no doubts, because his wife was an academic high-achiever; she simply didn't want to waste her time not pursuing a doctorate.

"Okay, I'll listen to you."

Chen Leyi took Tang Wensheng's arm. In her mind, she had once wanted to find someone as outstanding as her father. Tang Wensheng might be considered outstanding, but only in one aspect (studying), and not in many other aspects.

She got married for three reasons: first, she was of marriageable age; second, her father introduced her to someone; and third, Tang Wensheng was an honest man. It's that simple. She's a very opinionated woman, and if she were to find another man with the same strong opinions, it would probably be difficult to live together comfortably.

Tang Wensheng said emotionally, "Leyi, how about the third child takes your surname? As long as I ask my father-in-law, I'm sure I can get it approved."

Chen Leyi was somewhat tempted and asked, "Are you sincere?"

Tang Wensheng immediately raised his hand and said, "The second one is sincere. I was just a little afraid of my father-in-law at the time. This time, I will kneel down before my father-in-law to complete this task."

The key point here is that the father-in-law strongly disagreed with this, believing that since Leyi married him, she should be subordinate to the Tang family; even when his father, Tang Feifan, tried to persuade him, the father-in-law refused.

Chen Leyi smiled and said, "It's not that scary! This child was unexpected. Just talk to your father calmly! I think he will agree."

It's understandable that since it was born out of her own risk, it's reasonable for it to share her surname.

"it is good"

Next, Chen Leyi does indeed plan to recruit professional managers to prepare for the IPO. She, on the other hand, intends to become the chairperson of the board and step back from the forefront.

Today's meeting also reminded her that she should keep a low profile when necessary.

As long as the two families hold enough shares, when the third generation grows up, if they are capable, they can still take control, or continue to maintain behind-the-scenes control. (End of Chapter)