A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

More than three months later, it was March 1984.

Ping An Index rebounded to 1300 points (the highest was 2200 points in 1981, the lowest was 800 points in 1982, and the lowest was 780 points in 1983). Under these circumstances, the Chan family finally decided to formally privatize Wharf Holdings.

Ping An Investment, acting as the financial representative of Global Group Holdings, published a privatization announcement for Wharf Holdings in newspapers throughout Hong Kong: a full acquisition of Wharf Holdings at HK$90 per share, a premium of 32%, involving HK$45.5 billion.

The news brought joy to the minority shareholders of Wharf Holdings.

It's very simple: HK$90 is the highest share price in Wharf Holdings' history.

"The Chen family is still the most generous in their privatization offer. They offered HK$90 per share to privatize Wharf Holdings. Even if they offered HK$80 per share, they could still privatize it smoothly!"

"Absolutely! Investors holding shares in Wharf Holdings are incredibly lucky. However, the Global Group's generosity is also related to its deep pockets. After all, the Chen family's decisive move to withdraw at the peak of shipping, reducing their fleet by half, allowed them to avoid the shipping downturn. Other major shipowners like the Tung Chao-yung family and the Zhao Congyan family fared much worse!"

"This shows that experience truly matters! Compared to Sir Chen Guangliang, people like Dong Haoyun and Zhao Congyan are merely juniors in the business world."

The public is discussing it extensively.

Currently, the public's opinion of the Chan family in Hong Kong is naturally very positive.

On the one hand, people admire the legendary experiences of tycoons and fantasize that they can also become successful;

On the other hand, the Chan family were the creators of Hong Kong's industrial and technological sectors. Not to mention driving the development of Hong Kong's entire industry, the fact that they employed more than 100,000 workers was enough to give them a huge influence.

Undoubtedly, this privatization of Wharf Holdings is also a positive development.

Global Group.

Chen Guangliang works in the office of the honorary chairman of the board. Of course, he does not participate in the company's day-to-day operations. Since the 1980s, he has not been involved in the work of the four major Hong Kong groups, but only provides advice to his four sons.

The Chan family's privatization of Wharf Holdings was very benevolent and friendly to minority shareholders.

But in reality, the Global Group did not suffer any losses. It has always held Japanese yen or US dollars; especially before 1982, it specifically converted its funds into US dollars.

The exchange rate was originally 5.65 USD to 7.8 HKD. When the Global Group transferred funds back to Hong Kong and privatized Wharf Holdings, the cost was indirectly reduced by about 25%.

Chen Guangliang wrote down the Chen family's major commercial real estate projects in Hong Kong on a piece of paper:

Cheung Kong Holdings: Exchange Square (200 million square feet of floor space, under construction), Cheung Kong Plaza (Poly Tower, Cheung Kong Shopping Centre), Cheung Kong Centre (formerly Hilton Hotel, to be rebuilt), Shangri-La Hotel (a landmark 56-story building), Shangri-La Building (formerly Universal Group Building, to be rebuilt), International Commerce Centre (exchanging the original Shangri-La Building at 71-77 Des Voeux Road for Universal Group Building and International Commerce Centre), Miramar Hotel, Miramar Plaza (under construction), Paterson Street commercial complex (Furama Hotel, Causeway Bay Shopping Centre, Daimaru Department Store), Admiralty Centre Phase II. A total of about ten valuable commercial projects.

Universal Group: Harbour City, Times Square, New Universal Group Centre (occupying 3.6 square feet, with a buildable floor area of ​​over 60 square feet). After Wharf Holdings was privatized, it still used this name, but it is no longer a listed company.

Cheung Kong Group: Midea Tower (above Central MTR station), Admiralty Centre Phase 1 (above Admiralty MTR station).

Ping An Group: Ping An Bank Tower (a 72-story skyscraper, the tallest building in Hong Kong, to be completed in one year), Chinatown Building.

Times Pictures: Times Tower, Central (26 stories high).
Overall, the Chan family owns a vast amount of commercial real estate in Hong Kong, generating enormous rental income.

Of course, Chen Guangliang no longer values ​​commercial real estate projects as much, and there's no need to compete for too many, which is consistent with his usual style—giving others a way to survive. There's no need to do any more future projects like the 'Twin Towers (Lippo Centre)' or Pacific Place, and he doesn't want to compete with British-owned Swire Properties anymore.

It's very simple. What he wants is an open Hong Kong. If Jardine Matheson and Swire are driven out of Hong Kong, it will be detrimental to Hong Kong itself. Without foreign investment, Hong Kong wouldn't be Hong Kong anymore; it would just become another city on the mainland.

"dad"

Chen Wenming walked in with a smile and then said, "With the successful privatization of Wharf Holdings, we can now develop even better. Harbour City is now fully completed, and Times Square will be completed in another year. My next step is to develop a commercial complex project in Singapore as a goal for the mid-to-late 1980s."

After acquiring Wharf Holdings, Chan Man-ming also began to learn about real estate. With family resources, he was able to get up to speed quickly.

Chen Guangliang nodded and said, "This idea is fine. Singapore is a good place, and its commercial real estate prospects are very good."

Chen Wenming continued, “In that case, I plan to first establish Marco Polo International Hotels, taking over the management rights of three hotels under Wharf Holdings Limited – Hong Kong Hotel, Marco Polo Hotels, Prince Hotel, and Marco Polo Singapore – from Hong Kong Hotel. Later, we will increase our stake in Marco Polo Singapore (a listed company, holding 42.8% of the shares), using this Singapore-listed company as our flagship to develop commercial real estate and hotel projects in Singapore.”

It is clear that Chen Wenming's business acumen is already quite sophisticated.

At the same time, Chen Guangliang also saw his ambition to develop in the hotel industry.

He warned, “Hong Kong companies find it very difficult to operate well in the hotel industry in North America and Europe. Even if you want to acquire a hotel management group first and then develop the hotel industry, it is still very difficult. On the contrary, if Marco Polo International Hotels is based in Asia, it will make a difference. I believe that the mainland will undergo more in-depth reforms in the 1990s, which will be an opportunity for Wharf Holdings’ commercial real estate and hotel industry.”

Chen Wenming heeded his father's renewed warning and replied, "Okay."

While the hotel industry in North America and Europe is currently off-limits, the Global Group's overseas properties, including those of Global Trading, are substantial. Moreover, the Global Group's globalization efforts are currently focused on shipping and supply chain warehousing (industrial real estate).

Tokyo.

At the headquarters of NES, Chen Wenying is listening to a report from Vice President Hideo Kojima.

"Last year, three of our self-developed games—Super Mario Bros. (500 million copies), Golf (203 million copies), Baseball (220 million copies), and Formula 1 (148 million copies)—achieved ideal results and boosted console sales. This year, our FC game console is expected to surpass half of global sales."

One piece of good news after another brought a smile to Chen Wenying's face.

The Famicom (FC) game console was released in June 1982. It sold over 500,000 units in two months, over 1.5 million units in six months, and over 3.5 million units in one year. It's worth noting that at the time, the consensus in the Japanese industry was that the maximum capacity of the game console market was no more than three million units, but EA's Famicom shattered this consensus.

Because of its popularity in the Japanese market, the FC did not launch in North America until June 1983, where it experienced another huge success.

Chen Wenying said, “Very good! We still have a lot to do: First, strengthen the software quality review body of the Mario Club and conduct strict reviews of third-party software projects; second, establish a Game Boy project team to develop follow-up products for the Game & Watch; and third, we must ensure product supply in North America and Europe.”

He went on to explain each point, and Hideo Kojima took careful notes. As the president's most capable assistant, he needed to be on his best.

Within Electronic Arts, the president was practically a god, his rise to power inspiring awe and reverence. Hideo Kojima then tentatively inquired, "President, I heard you're planning a major investment in real estate and securities?"

At the end of last year, Electronic Arts (EA) went public, raising $2.5 million, which put it at a valuation of $10 billion.

But this is not the end. After EA went public, its market value soared and has now exceeded US$18 billion, and it is still rising. This is because the global sales of the FC game console this year (1984) may push EA's market value to exceed US$40 billion, or even higher.

Electronic Arts (EA) is not short of money if it were only focused on the video game industry. Therefore, the purpose of going public is naturally to diversify its business.

"Well, you don't need to worry about that. Your main role is to assist me in managing the video game industry. I've already assembled a new team for real estate and securities investments."

"Ok"

EADI invests primarily in real estate and securities, mainly in entire buildings and land plots, and secondarily in popular, high-quality stocks, so it doesn't require much effort.

Looking out the window at the street and pedestrians below, Chen Wenying wore the expression of a 'godfather'.

He wanted to create a new zaibatsu in Japan, so while vigorously developing the diversified development of EA, Chen Wenying also mortgaged EA's stock to obtain a loan in preparation for acquiring Chiba Bank.

This is the largest bank in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. If successful, it will hold two major trump cards – Chiba Bank and NEE.

Moreover, Chen Wenying believed that with his father backing him up, EA's diversification would surely succeed, and investing in real estate and securities would definitely increase his assets significantly.

By comparison, his expansion was relatively conservative.

His younger brother, Chen Wensheng, directly borrowed heavily to invest in large amounts of land and real estate projects in prime locations in Tokyo and Osaka. If it weren't for their father's support, he feared his brother would have been doomed.

This summer, Chen Guangliang's fifteen children gathered together in a private conference room in the Discovery Bay villa complex to meet their father, Chen Guangliang.

Chen Guangliang's four wives and concubines did not come in; their children had grown up and they no longer needed to act as 'guardians'.

Looking at his fifteen children, Chen Guangliang couldn't help but feel proud, as they were essentially 'big entrepreneurs' in charge of their respective areas.

The main branch:
With Chen Wenjie at the helm of the 'CK Asset Group', the company will develop into a top Fortune Global 500 company with diversified businesses in real estate, hotels, beverages and food, ports and terminals, retail trade, telecommunications, manufacturing, and energy.

Chen Wenming heads the 'Global Group,' which has diversified into shipping, aviation, real estate, trade, and hotels. Although it is not listed on the stock exchange, it has substantial assets.

Chen Wenkai, at the helm of the "Chang Gong Group," has developed industries in textiles and garments, machinery manufacturing, toys and comics, electronics, and game IPs. Its most substantial assets are intangible assets; the comic book IPs alone are future cash cows of immense value, as are the video game IPs. Of course, this company will also expand into high-tech industries, demonstrating enormous potential.

Chen Wensheng took charge of the Ping An Group, developing in the fields of commercial banking and investment banking. Commercial banking could provide stable business, while investment banking focused on investing in securities, making wealth readily available.

Chen Mengyi heads the "Media Department," developing industries such as talent agency, cinema chains, and television stations. It is a future incubator for "Hong Kong pop culture" with enormous potential. Of course, she can only take half of the shares; the remainder will be shared by the family office and the Chen Guangliang Foundation.

Second wife's lineage:
Chen Wenjie heads the 'Amazon Group,' the world's largest commercial real estate empire. Amazon Shopping Center has grown into a behemoth of over forty retail properties. Amazon Realty holds a 8% stake in eight Manhattan skyscrapers and is developing the World Financial Center (three buildings). It also owns the hotel giant Sheraton Group, which owns the Sheraton and Ritz-Carlton brands and related hotels, and has acquired the global naming rights for Holiday Inn Group outside the United States and Canada (assets already affiliated are not included in this list).

With Chen Leyi at the helm of Amgen Biopharmaceuticals, the company's entry into the world's top ten pharmaceutical companies is a foregone conclusion. Chen Leyi serves as the chairperson of the board of directors and, together with her husband Tang Wensheng, holds 35% of the shares, making them the actual controllers of the company.

Chen Wenhua, who is in charge of United Madison, still surpasses the market value of Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, but his shareholding has been diluted to 41%, and he will continue to adhere to value investing in the future.

Chen Wenhai promptly sold Atari to IBM for $10 billion, using the money to become an angel investor in Silicon Valley. Of course, before that, he had already become Apple's first investor, gaining fame, and later invested in companies such as Microsoft and Oracle.

The three branches of the family:
Chen Wen-ou has assumed the position of Chairman of the Board of Directors of Mattel Group and CEO of Red Bull Europe (which is not yet publicly listed). Mattel Group has become a diversified enterprise, holding significant stakes in Disney and Pearson.

Chen Wenxi became a real estate businessman in London and primarily invested in the European securities industry. His real estate company is preparing to develop London's Canary Wharf, though this will take some time.

Chen Daiyi is currently the executive director of Harrods, a British department store giant. Audrey Hepburn herself served as the chairman. Harrods owns Château Latour in France.

The Four Branches of the Same Lineage:
Chen Wenying, who heads EA, has seen its market value exceed US$25 billion by the summer of this year, thanks to the huge sales of the FC game console and related game software. It is expected to reach US$4 billion by early next year.

Chen Wensheng is engaged in real estate development, including commercial complexes and shopping malls in Japan, and also invests in land and properties.

Chen Yingyi is currently a senior at the University of Tokyo and will soon be starting her career.

In the conference room, Chen Guangliang looked at his children and said with satisfaction, "I am very satisfied with you all."

Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes immediately welled up with tears.

"Our father will always be our role model."

"We were raised by our father."

Everyone chimed in with their opinions.

As for Chan Kwong-leung's private life, it was never a family matter. He was a man of that era, and Hong Kong only abolished polygamy in the early 1970s. More importantly, his four mothers never allowed them to discuss their father's private affairs, nor did they allow them to say a single word about him in that regard.

Chen Guangliang waved his hand and said, "I might live to be a hundred, which means I can guide you for at least another 26 years. Of course, I'll only guide you on the general direction; whether you can do it well is up to you!"

"Yes, father"

As the eldest son, Chen Wenjie earnestly stated, "We only realized how important it is to choose between the left and right paths when we began managing the entire company. Father's vision is far beyond what we siblings can match. With you here, the family has a pillar of stability. Of course, we siblings must also do our jobs well and not worry Father; at the same time, we siblings must communicate and cooperate more to strengthen family unity."

The younger siblings immediately chimed in.

Unity is always the most important thing in this family. The family gatherings held twice a year are a must. Whenever we travel for work, we always make sure to get together separately.

The third generation is the same; they gather every summer and winter vacation, and a sense of family honor is ingrained in their blood. (End of Chapter)