Opinion | A feast for wolves: China’s richest man is hunting the global sports and entertainment industry
From football to Disney to Indian cricket, Wang Jianlin’s Wanda Corporation is leading a pack of business interests with the aim of building an entertainment empire stretching from China to Hollywood
Wang Jianlin is China’s richest man, his fortune derived from his ownership of the Wanda Corporation.
Wang set up the company in 1988, originally to deal in real estate. Through a process of conglomeration, the business is now also active across the hospitality, retailing, tourism, entertainment and sport industries.
This has enabled Wang to accumulate a personal fortune worth more than US$30 billion, and to build a company currently generating upwards of US$40b each year.
This is a long way from his origins; Wang started out as a member of the People’s Liberation Army, later becoming an administrator in a local government office in the city of Dalian.
Crucially, Dalian had their own football club, which was initially called Dalian Shipyards and later became Dalian FC when it was taken over by the local government.
In 1993, Wang acquired the club, renaming it Dalian Wanda. By the late 1990s, the football club had been sold again, although by this time Wang had already set about creating what has arguably now become the most influential business in world football.