Entertainment mogul: Starting his business with the internet

Chapter 443 Astounding Wealth
In-depth analysis of the Song family's capital empire.

"Among the assets of Song Ci, the most core segment belongs to the global internet giant Tenda Technology Group."

According to Bloomberg, a financial information and data provider, and Fitch, a leading international credit rating agency, Tenda Technology Group's latest valuation reached $2120 billion as of the third quarter of 2012.

As the founder, Song Ci personally holds 32.3% of the shares—of which 8.075% is the Tenda option pool. Although employees enjoy the right to dividends and appreciation, because Tenda Group has not yet gone public, these shares are currently still registered under Song Ci's name—corresponding to assets of US$684.76 billion.

The second part of the assets comes from Song Ci's early investments in Facebook, which resulted in profits and cashing out. He then heavily invested in shares of several US technology companies, including Apple, Nvidia, and Amazon, with a current market value of approximately $80 billion.

In addition, Song Ci and Liu Shishi, along with their spouse, hold multiple properties in first-tier cities in China and equity in the Four Seasons Hotel. According to professional assessments, these assets are valued at US$35 billion.

The aforementioned total of approximately US$800 billion represents the assets listed in the Song Dynasty poetry rankings compiled by Fortune magazines such as Forbes and Hurun.

At first glance, Song Ci's wealth is higher than that of Li Zhaoji's family, but there is a significant gap between Song Ci's wealth and Li Jiacheng's $1500 billion.

But things are far more complex than they appear; the real power struggle often lies hidden behind the surface-level figures.

Upon seeing this, everyone's spirits lifted, and they held their breath, knowing that the crucial moment was yet to come—whether Song Ci truly deserved the title of Asia's richest man depended entirely on whether he possessed any hidden assets.

However, a sense of bewilderment and disappointment inevitably arose in everyone's hearts. After all, Song Ci was only 25 years old. Even if he had some hidden strengths, he would probably be no match for Li Jiacheng's half-century of experience. The throne of Asia's richest man would most likely change hands.

With a sigh, Lin Gengxin and Yuan Hong composed themselves and continued browsing the blog posts.

"At the beginning of this year, Song Ci started his second business, establishing Devon Manufacturing Company. Within six months, Devon completed three major strategic initiatives:"

1. They went on a buying spree in the global and domestic mining markets, hoarding scarce minerals such as cobalt, lithium, and rare earth elements;
2. We are recruiting a top-notch technical team with high salaries;
3. Acquire land in Beiping and build the Devon headquarters building.

The total investment was no less than $50 billion, no small sum. Intriguingly, however:

According to investigations by multiple financial institutions and disclosures from other shareholders of Tengda Group, Song Ci has not pledged his shares to any bank or financial institution.

This massive sum of $50 billion far exceeds Tenda Group's annual dividend payout and has no publicly disclosed financing history.

The funds must have other legitimate sources; they could not have appeared out of thin air. Therefore, it can be concluded that Song Ci possessed substantial, undisclosed overseas assets.

It is worth exploring further that Tenda Group's second-largest shareholder is Shanhai Capital, holding 24.22% of the shares, corresponding to assets of US$513 billion.

This investment company, registered in the Virgin Islands, is renowned in the global capital markets. During the subprime mortgage crisis, it made a major purchase of shares in the US stock market, holding shares in many high-quality technology companies with a total market value of over $500 billion.

Due to local laws requiring the confidentiality of the company's actual owner, clues can always be found, and several anomalies have revealed underlying issues:
When Song Ci founded Tengda Group in 2004, she was already a well-known writer with substantial royalties from her works. In addition, she received entrepreneurial funding from Peking University during her university years, so the group was not short of funds in its early stages.

Shanhai Capital appeared on the list of original shareholders of Tengda Group and held as much as 30% of the shares. Which startup would give up so many shares at once when it has no shortage of initial funds? This obviously violates the basic logic of business.

As the investigation deepened, more clues surfaced: Lin Hao, president of Shanhai Capital and director of Tengda Group, was Song Ci's college classmate and roommate, and the two had a close personal relationship.

What's even more intriguing is that Shanhai Capital, which holds a 24.22% stake and has ten times the voting rights of B shares, listens to Song Ci's every word in the daily operations of Tengda Group.

The fact that Song Ci never interfered with decision-making and that all group affairs were decided solely by his word is itself illogical.

Furthermore, Shan Hai Capital's every capital operation is highly synchronized with changes in Song Ci's personal assets.

Based on this, I boldly speculate that the actual controller of Shanhai Capital is Song Ci! However, at the beginning of the establishment of Tengda Group, Song Ci made a shareholding separation arrangement for some reason.

If the $1013 billion equity assets held by Shanhai Capital are included, the Song Ci family's actual assets will exceed $1800 billion, which is approximately RMB 12600 trillion at the latest exchange rate.

Of course, the connection between Shanhai Capital and Song Dynasty poetry is purely my personal speculation and has no factual basis.

Some people may think I'm exaggerating and deliberately inflating the value of Song Dynasty poetry. To that, I can only say that opinions vary.

In addition to Microsoft shares, Bill Gates' family office, Waterfall Investments, holds a significant amount of hidden assets.

World-class billionaires like Bill Gates, Song Ci, and Li Jiacheng are all business prodigies who act with foresight and have long since concealed their wealth through diversified investments.

This is also why magazines like Forbes and Fortune only count the publicly known wealth of the rich, since everyone has a huge amount of hidden assets.

In conclusion, Song Ci is undoubtedly the richest person in the continent, and will be challenging for the title of the world's richest person next year!

Although the blogger admitted that there was no evidence to support the claim that Shanhai Capital was Songci's asset and that it was just personal speculation, netizens have already come to believe it!
What a coincidence! Shanhai Capital is clearly an industry related to Song Ci (a type of classical Chinese poetry).

"It's so obvious! Song Ci clearly controls Shan Hai Capital through an offshore structure, and his real net worth exceeds Li Jiacheng's by 300 billion US dollars. Now I understand why the Huo family was so cautious about Liu Shishi attending the banquet."

“刚才用计算器按了下：1800亿美元≈1.2万亿元≈每天赚3.28亿≈每秒进账3800元！太离谱了，我在厂里打螺丝，想赚3800元需要干俩个月啊。”

"I was just feeling sorry for Song Ci, who's about to lose her title as Asia's richest woman??? I really want to slap myself. Was I stupid enough to worry about being the richest woman?"

"Case solved! No wonder Devon Manufacturing dared to spend $50 billion to buy mines and research cutting-edge manufacturing! It turns out the richest man has more money than he can spend!"

"12600 trillion yuan, that number is too exaggerated. In 2011, the GDP was 47.31 trillion yuan. Song Ci's wealth alone accounted for 2.66% of the national GDP. This is the first time I have directly experienced the weight of the phrase 'rich enough to rival a country'."

"I'm curious, what's it like to have $1800 billion at the age of 25?"

"He's probably browsing Weibo right now, just like us. The difference is that Weibo is his, while I'm just using the company's Wi-Fi."

"It is recommended that relevant departments thoroughly investigate the origins of Songci's assets and whether Shanhai Capital has legally paid taxes!!!"

"Is the person upstairs an idiot? So resentful of the rich? Shanhai Capital bought up US stocks during the subprime crisis, they made money off the US."

"Holy crap! 1800 billion? In US dollars? That's more than half the GDP of most countries in the world!"

. . .

Meanwhile, in a corner of the photography studio, Liu Shishi was video chatting with her husband on WeChat. Her face was filled with worry: "Yiyi, is what that blogger said true? Do we really have that much money?"

On the screen, Song Ci nodded slightly: "This person is quite capable; he's managed to uncover almost 70% of my assets."

"180 billion US dollars only accounts for 70%?!" Liu Shishi exclaimed in surprise, then covered her mouth with her hand, realizing that she had overreacted.

Song Ci made no attempt to hide anything, and with a light laugh, she frankly admitted: "Actually, China-Singapore Investment is also my asset. I originally planned to transform China-Singapore Investment into a family office like the Gates family's Waterfall Investment, so I made a more complex offshore design."

That blogger probably guessed that Zhongxin Investment was also my company, but without any evidence, they didn't dare to say it. Lin Hao and I are too close; the actual situation of Shanhai Capital can easily be deduced.

Song Ci sighed inwardly, realizing that her foundation was ultimately too shallow!
Given the urgency of the subprime crisis, Shanhai Capital and Zhongxin Investment didn't have time to conceal their activities further. They were busy buying up US stocks at rock-bottom prices and made frequent, high-profile moves. Their financial transactions were inevitably traceable and couldn't be completely hidden from the eyes of professional institutions.

Liu Shishi pressed her hand to her pounding heart, took a deep breath to calm it down, and slowly composed herself: "Honey, we shouldn't flaunt our wealth. Should we tone down the Weibo buzz?"

Song Ci shook her head: "Trying to suppress the Weibo trend now is just a futile attempt to cover up the truth. Besides, the matter has already been exposed, and it can't be suppressed at all."

Now that things have come to this, it's best to remain silent and downplay the situation. Actually, having most of my assets exposed might not be a bad thing. If any unscrupulous individuals have designs on me, they'll have to consider the weight of hundreds of billions of US dollars first.

"I hope so!" Liu Shishi sighed softly. She never dreamed that she would one day worry about having too much money in her family. It was a happy trouble, a sweet burden!

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing." Song Ci's voice came through the screen, carrying a reassuring power.

In a few days, the top leader will come to inspect Tengda. With this divine favor bestowed upon him, he has nothing to worry about.

Seeing her husband's calm expression, Liu Shishi felt a little relieved. After a moment's thought, she suggested, "Should we donate some money to charity?"

“No need,” Song Ci rejected outright. “Everything will remain the same. Our family has always done a lot of charity work. To deliberately make a large donation during this sensitive time would only make us seem guilty and weak.”

My assets are all legally obtained, and now that they've been exposed, there's nothing shameful about them. We'll discuss the details when you get home.

After hanging up the video call, Liu Shishi was still a little dizzy, but she couldn't help but smile slightly, unable to hide her overwhelming excitement and joy.

Hu Ge had just finished filming a Chinese New Year greeting video when Cai Yinong invited the Tang Dynasty stars into the photography studio to take a family photo.

Upon hearing the sound, everyone entered, their gazes fixed on the top woman with intense admiration. Her 1.2 trillion fortune was more than enough to last for generations.

At this time, as details of Song Ci's assets were revealed, online discussions intensified, and with the help of certain individuals, public opinion gradually went astray.

As the sun sets, in the chairman's office at the headquarters of Tengda Group.

Song Ci gazed at the afterglow outside the window, her fingertips lightly tapping the table.

Glancing at the increasing number of negative comments on Weibo, he muttered to himself, "Public opinion has become a bit skewed! But it's no wonder, Tengda is a big tree that attracts a lot of attention. It's rare for them to have the opportunity to cause me some trouble, so many people are probably getting restless."

Just as I was pondering whether I should respond directly or remain silent for a few days and wait for the top leader's inspection before making any plans, my phone suddenly rang.

Upon seeing the caller ID, Song Ci quickly answered the call, her tone respectful: "Director Li, hello!"

"Comrade Xiao Song, how are the preparations for the commander's inspection of Tengda going?"

"Rest assured, everything is in perfect order and there will be absolutely no mistakes."

"That's good!" Director Li changed the subject, his tone filled with approval. "The senior officials are generally aware of your overseas assets."

"Being able to make money from Americans is your skill; the higher-ups are happy to see that happen. You're a hundred times better than those who only know how to fight amongst themselves."

"It's the leaders' kindness that's appreciated." Upon hearing this, Song Ci's brows relaxed instantly, and the last trace of worry in his heart vanished.

Director Li's voice was gentle yet firm: "You have impeccable family background and have achieved this success entirely through your own efforts. The leader is very pleased. There are some dissenting voices online, but you don't need to take them to heart. Just focus on preparing for the leader's inspection."

The Song Dynasty poem has a light and cheerful tone: "Understood."

After ending the call, Song Ci packed her things and left work in peace. With her boss's statement, no one could stir up any more trouble by trying to use his assets as a pretext.

The following day, the official Weibo account of Xinhua News Agency published a special report titled "Unveiling the Asset Map of Song Dynasty Poetry: Compliance Audit Demonstrates the Rule of Law and Fairness".

The article systematically reviews the equity structure and cross-border investment flows of Songci's core enterprises, and confirms the legality of its assets with past audit reports.

The Economic Daily followed suit with an article titled "The Innovation Code Behind Huge Wealth: Analyzing the Compliance and Contemporary Value of Song Dynasty Poetry Assets."

The core of Song Dynasty poetry's wealth stems from its innovative and in-depth cultivation in the field of internet technology, serving as a vivid practice and case study of a high-level cycle of "technology-capital-industry".

CCTV's legal program also offered a sharp commentary: "The wealth story of young entrepreneur Song Ci is essentially a contemporary allegory about 'knowledge creating value'."

When we discuss the figure of "$1800 billion", we should pay more attention to the technological innovation and achievements behind the figure.

As long as it is legal and compliant, the law protects both the one-dollar profit of street vendors and the billions of dollars in assets of tech giants.

This indiscriminate protection is the source of vitality and the greatness of my country's market economy, and a reflection of the remarkable achievements of more than 30 years of reform and opening up.

Subsequently, the People's Daily published an article entitled "Protecting People's Assets in Accordance with the Law and Strengthening Market Confidence"; and the Guangming Daily published an article entitled "The New Economy Calls on Benchmark Enterprises: Only by Abiding by the Law and Innovating Can They Achieve Steady and Long-Term Development".

With a number of authoritative media outlets speaking out, public opinion quickly shifted. Attentive citizens noticed that the official figure of "$1800 billion" remained ambiguous.

However, the discussion always revolved around "legitimacy," adhering to the principle of "guiding without pandering, and resolving doubts without demystifying," and directing the focus of the discussion to a deeper exploration of the "wealth creation mechanism."

Those who had originally intended to stir up trouble understood the higher-ups' attitude and quietly withdrew their actions. The turmoil gradually subsided as night fell.

(End of this chapter)