Sino Biopharmaceutical founders’ son, who parties and takes selfies with Rihanna, gets US$3.8 billion gift in the drugmaker’s shares
- The founder of Sino Biopharmaceutical and his wife have granted 2.7 billion shares of their company, equivalent to US$3.8 billion, to their son Eric Tse as a gift
- The grant makes Tse, 24, one of the wealthiest individuals in Asia
The grant of 2.7 billion shares, detailed in a Hong Kong exchange filing late Tuesday, makes Eric Tse one of Asia’s richest individuals overnight. (There’s no tax on gifts or inherited wealth in the former British colony.) But the 24-year-old son of Tse Ping and Cheng Cheung Ling says he’ll try to keep a low profile.
According to the statement, Eric has “indicated that in response to nomination for Billionaire List or wealth ranking organised by media or other organisations, he will endeavour not to participate in such rankings in his own name, and would recommend participating in such nominations in the name of the Tse Ping family.”
Besides his parents, that includes older sister Theresa. The total value of Sino Biopharmaceutical’s shares held by the four is around US$8.5 billion, Bloomberg calculations show.
In a separate statement Wednesday evening, Sino Biopharmaceutical named Eric Tse an executive director and member of the company’s executive board committee, effective the same day. His compensation is set at HK$3.9 million (US$498,000) per year, plus discretionary bonuses.
Sino Biopharmaceutical didn’t respond to requests for comment about the gifted shares. Eric also didn’t immediately respond to messages left for him.