A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

Manhattan, New York.

In an office in a skyscraper, Chen Wenjin sat pondering the future of the Amazon Group.

Today, Chen Wenjin is the controller of the world's largest commercial real estate group, wielding significant influence in the American business community. His Amazon Group comprises three main divisions: Amazon Shopping Center Management, Amazon Commercial Real Estate Management, and Sheraton Hotels & Resorts.

Amazon Shopping Centers Group owns 45 shopping centers in North America (the United States and Canada), and has established a very well-known brand in North America. Moreover, the company is not publicly listed, and Chen Wenjin controls approximately 80% of the shares, meaning that some shopping centers have individual investors.

Amazon Commercial Realty Management owns eight skyscrapers (office buildings) in Manhattan, and is currently investing in the Manhattan landmark building, the World Financial Center (a combination of four buildings – 46, 40, 51 and 36 floors).

Among them, Sheraton Hotels & Resorts owns high-end hotel brands such as Sheraton and Ritz-Carlton, as well as the global naming rights for Holiday Inn.

Despite feeling immense pride in his vast business empire, Chen Wenjin has never let his guard down.

"Dad, this is the offer letter for the acquisition of the Holiday Inn Group. Please take a look!"

A mixed-race man walked in and handed Chen Wenjin a file. He was Chen Wenjin's eldest son, Chen Zekang. His mother, Kelly, came from a political family in California, so he was half white.

Chen Zekang is 25 years old this year, and his girlfriend is still white and comes from a prominent family.

This idea also came from his grandfather, Chen Guangliang.

Not only in the choice of spouses, but also in the internal management of Amazon Group, it is basically managed by native Americans, which is a disguised 'professional manager' model. The difference is that Chen Wenjin has a very tight control over the internal situation, but he advocates the concept of 'using barbarians to control barbarians'. Just like when developing shopping malls in Canada, the focus is on cultivating local management, and the United States only sends some important personnel.

"Well, you're getting married this year, so I plan to arrange for you to join the board of directors of the Sheraton Hotel Group after your wedding and be in charge of matters related to the listing."

Chen Zekang said excitedly, "Thank you for your trust, Father. I will definitely take Grandpa and you as my role models."

His father, Chen Wenjin, had four sons and one daughter; he was the eldest son. Of the three major businesses within the Amazon Group, he preferred working at the Sheraton Hotel Group because of the greater competition there.

Sheraton Hotels & Resorts originally owned Sheraton and Ritz-Carlton hotels, and then acquired the global naming rights to Holiday Inn in the early 1980s for $300 million.

Of course, this was just a trial run for cooperation. This year, Sheraton Hotels & Resorts is deepening its cooperation with Holiday Inn by directly acquiring the entire Holiday Inn management group.

Holiday Inn Management Group currently owns 1410 franchised Holiday Inn hotels and 177 Holiday Inn hotels owned or managed by Holiday Inn.

Sheraton Hotels & Resorts' final offer was a whopping $20 billion, reaching $20.3 billion.

After reviewing the acquisition proposal, Chen Wenjin said, "With the successful acquisition of Holiday Inn Group, Sheraton Hotels & Resorts will gain access to the world's most advanced reservation system, giving us a more mature global presence. Therefore, it is of paramount importance! After you join the board, you will not only be part of the listing team, but also drive the computerization process of Sheraton Hotels & Resorts. Service is important, but more advanced technology is equally important."

"Yes, father"

Their family has a deep understanding of advanced technology and is involved in it, such as the world's first commercial video game—the arcade game, and investments in Apple and Microsoft.

Sheraton Hotels & Resorts acquired Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts for a total of $20 billion. Naturally, this money could not all be its own funds; the vast majority came from loans.

The banks providing the loans, including Citibank and JPMorgan Chase, are not lacking in support; in fact, they are all rushing to provide loans.

However, a loan is still a loan. If Sheraton Hotels & Resorts uses the annual profits of the acquired group to repay these loans, it will inevitably affect the future development of the hotel group.

Therefore, if the acquisition by Sheraton Hotels & Resorts is successful, the next step is to prepare for a listing on Wall Street to raise funds to repay part of the loans.

this day.

Chen Wenjin, accompanied by Steve, CEO of Sheraton Hotels & Resorts, and other senior executives, visited Holiday Inn Group and met with its founder Wilson and others.

Wilson is considered a legendary figure in American business. In 1952, the world's first Holiday Inn was established in Memphis, Tennessee. Positioned as a mid-range hotel with high-standard service, Holiday Inn quickly attracted guests from the mid-range market, which accounted for 65% of the local market.

In fact, he was very familiar with the Chen family. After graduating from university in 1954, when Holiday Inn had not yet opened up franchising, Chen Wenjie still partnered with Wilson to build two Holiday Inn hotels in the United States. He then sold them at a high price in 1956, making a profit of several million US dollars.

At that time, Wilson realized the potential of 'franchising' and became friends with Chen Wenjie.

As Chen Wenjie's younger brother, Chen Wenjin was naturally quite familiar with Wilson.

A few years ago, the acquisition of the overseas naming rights of Holiday Inn Group was a very smooth collaboration between the two parties.

“Allen (Chen Wenjin), to be honest, I don’t really want to sell Holiday Inn Group too soon, because it’s like my child.” Wilson started by playing the emotional card.

Perhaps this was a heartfelt remark, but Chen Wenjin clearly wasn't buying it, stating directly, "Wilson, the future of the hotel industry will trend towards large-scale, large-group operations. Holiday Inn Group has always been a mid-range brand, lacking a mature high-end brand, which clearly meant a merger was inevitable sooner or later. Now, we've been cooperating for three years, and both sides are very satisfied. So, the time is ripe for further cooperation. After the merger, I also hope you will serve as a director of our Xilaiwu Hotel Group."

Since the company is going public, it's natural that many external board members will join.

Chen Wenjin has cultivated deep connections in the American business world for thirty years. The listing of Sheraton Hotel Group also means that this family will come into the public eye.

But this was something they were determined to achieve.

With its portfolio of Sheraton, Ritz-Carlton, and Holiday Inn hotels, Sheraton Hotels & Resorts is poised to challenge for a place among the world's top three hotel groups.

Wilson remained noncommittal upon hearing this, after all, Holiday Inn only launched the Crowne Plaza high-end hotel this year, but it was far from being as well-known as brands like Sheraton and Ritz-Carlton.

Of course, he was very tempted by the offer from Sheraton Hotels & Resorts, and even cashing out at this point would be a good decision.

He then spoke with the other shareholders and concluded by saying, "Okay, we agree to the deal, but you only have two weeks to raise the funds, otherwise it will be void."

"no problem"

At this point, there were no other competitors for the sale of Holiday Inn Group, as they had already secured the global naming rights three years earlier, essentially establishing their brand.

Alternatively, Sheraton Hotels & Resorts may have acquired 'existing assets' this time, whereas three years ago it acquired 'future assets'.

Chen Guangliang arrived at a villa in Los Angeles to reunite with his second wife.

The three sons and one daughter of the second wife all have their own careers and private jets, making travel very convenient. The eldest son of the second wife, Chen Wenjin, owns the world's largest commercial real estate assets; the eldest daughter, Chen Leyi, and her husband jointly own the biopharmaceutical giant Amgen; the second son of the second wife, Chen Wenhua, is known as the "Chinese stock god" on Wall Street, and his company, United Madison, has consistently outperformed Berkshire Hathaway; the third son of the second wife, Chen Wenhai, after selling Atari for one billion US dollars, has become a venture capitalist and stepped down from the forefront.

Thanks to the influence of Chen Guangliang's three sons and one daughter, the entire Chinese community in the United States has benefited, increasing their visibility. This isn't due to wealth, but rather to their remarkable achievements in a particular field, which has earned them respect.

What's 'strange' is that all three sons of the second wife married white women. They may have been 'averagely pretty', but they had one thing in common—they came from very good families. Some were from political families in the West, some were from wealthy business families in New York, and some were from wealthy business families in California. In short, their families were indeed well-matched.

These sons were even more 'perfect' than Chen Guangliang had imagined.

If Chen Guangliang were in their shoes, he might not care about family background and would simply choose the most beautiful woman, but one with a good education. In this respect, he wasn't as thoughtful as his 11 sons.

"Grandpa, this is my girlfriend Annie. She's 23 years old and a classmate of mine from university."

Chen Zekang, the eldest grandson of the second wife, also brought his girlfriend to visit his grandfather's home to try and gain his support.

Influenced by his father from a young age, he also had a sense of 'family mission' and greatly admired his grandfather, knowing that the success of their second branch of the family today was all thanks to his grandfather directing his fathers behind the scenes.

He also chose a white woman for marriage, partly due to family considerations and partly because his mother was also white.

As for picking up girls, their family has excellent genes; they are not only good-looking, but more importantly, they are also intelligent and emotionally intelligent, so they are very popular with girls.

Looking at this mysterious figure from the family, Annie felt a sudden surge of nervousness. She quickly said in Chinese, "Hello, Grandpa."

Chen Guangliang smiled and said, "You speak Chinese?"

Anne knew this was the key point: her future mother-in-law, Kelly, spoke fluent Chinese; after she was to marry Chen Zekang, she also worked hard to learn Chinese, although it was very difficult.

"I know some, but not fluently enough yet. I will continue to work hard!"

Chen Guangliang said with satisfaction, "Having another language skill is a good thing."

He didn't say anything directly, but Chen Guangliang always hoped that this family would not forget their roots.

Kelly, the daughter-in-law, said from the side, "Annie, your grandfather speaks more than a dozen languages, including English, French, German, Japanese, and Italian, all fluently."

Anne was surprised; no wonder her boyfriend spoke of her grandfather with such admiration.

All she knew was that Chen Guangliang was the world's shipping magnate and the richest Chinese man.

Chen Guangliang smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Since Zekang brought Annie to me, I presume you are also considering marriage. I agree!"

He has a simple way of judging people; he can see a lot of clues in just a few glances and a few words.

Moreover, he didn't want to interfere too much in his grandchildren's marriages.

In fact, among his and Audrey Hepburn's grandchildren, their appearance is already closer to that of Europeans and Americans, after all, they are only one-quarter Chinese in ancestry. But no matter how their appearance changes, their Chinese genes are etched in their bones, and they maintain good Chinese habits.

Furthermore, by the third generation, there's no need for deliberate assimilation. In the future, Chinese people will be scattered across the globe, and skin color will be less important. For example, many of the giants in the semiconductor and software industries in the previous generation were of Chinese descent. People will prioritize systems and beliefs, with a less pronounced concept of 'roots,' though they will still have a sense of belonging to their race.

In the study.

Fifty-year-old Chen Wenjin still stood respectfully in front of her father, reporting on some of her work.

The old man was the pillar of the family; all the achievements of his siblings were inseparable from his guidance.

After listening, Chen Guangliang asked directly, "How much have you invested in Japan?"

The "Japanese bubble economy" from the mid-1980s to the late 1980s naturally created opportunities for other sectors of the real estate market. A mere doubling of the yen's value was enough to draw capital to Japan, not to mention the phenomenal appreciation of real estate and securities.

Chen Wenjin immediately said, "Our second branch of the family has invested a total of 10 billion US dollars, with my mother's investment company accounting for the largest share. Then there are investments in the ownership of Sheraton and Ritz-Carlton hotels in Japan."

Chen Guangliang asked with some surprise, "Your mother invests in a company?"

What does Jiang Meiying need money for?

She and Chen Guangliang's three sons and one daughter already have their own careers, so they don't need to earn much money.

Chen Wenjin naturally understood his father's thoughts, and he quickly said, "We have discussed it with Mother, and we hope to strongly support the 'Foundation' in the future to help share the burden of the family's charitable work. For example, with the listing of the Sheraton Hotel Group, I plan to transfer 25% of the shares to Mother in advance. These shares can be cashed out or used for dividends in the future for charitable purposes. After all, charitable work cannot rely solely on the companies managed by my elder brother and others; our cause is also supported by you, Father."

Chen Guangliang was somewhat moved; these children showed a strong sense of family responsibility. However, he still said, "You are American, so your philanthropic work should naturally focus on the United States. Besides, you have four sons and one daughter; why worry about having too much wealth?"

He doesn't allow his children and grandchildren to become the kind of "rootless people" who specifically slander China in the future, but he also allows them to be "traitors" to their own country.

Chen Wenjin said with a smile, "We also do charitable work in the United States, which does not conflict with supporting the family foundation. As for my four sons and one daughter, I believe everyone will be satisfied when they inherit the family business in the future. Moreover, I plan to package the Amazon Group in the form of a 'family trust', so that my four sons and one daughter will not be separated. Those who are capable can become senior executives, and those who are not can enjoy dividends or go into other industries."

Chen Guangliang's children all share this view.

He divided his assets among his 15 children, essentially splitting his wealth into 15 parts.

When his children made their 'succession plans', they all wanted to choose 'trusts'.

"Alright. Wealth is inexhaustible, and I truly hope that everyone can make better use of it and not become slaves to it!"

"Yes, father."

Chen Guangliang's philosophy is simple: China is currently poor and backward, and he is willing to donate a large amount of foreign exchange to help the people of the country during this period. In the future, when the country is wealthier, his donations will naturally be directed towards disaster relief and education, and the scale of his donations will not be as large.

Jiang Meiying did indeed mention wanting to inject some money into the 'Chen Guangliang Foundation'. After consideration, Chen Guangliang planned to have her cash out half of her Amgen Biopharmaceutical shares before 1987, and then donate the money to the Chen Guangliang Foundation for charitable causes in Greater China. After all, her and her daughter and son-in-law's 75% stake in Amgen Biopharmaceutical was simply too high. (End of Chapter)