Wang Sicong
Wang Sicong | |
|---|---|
王思聪
| |
 Wang in 2015
| |
| Born |
3 January 1988 |
| Nationality | Chinese |
| Education | Winchester College |
| Occupations |
|
| Parent(s) |
Wang Jianlin (father) Lin Ning (mother) |
| Website | Weibo account |
Wang Sicong (Chinese: 王思聪; pinyin: Wáng Sīcōng; born 3 January 1988) is a Chinese businessman and the only son of Chinese business magnate Wang Jianlin.
Early life
Wang Sicong was born in Dalian, Liaoning, China, in 1988. His father Wang Jianlin is the chairman of the Dalian Wanda Group, China's largest real estate developer, as well as the world's largest movie theater operator.
When Wang was young, he studied at Swiss School in Singapore and then entered Winchester College in United Kingdom. After graduating from Winchester College, he enrolled at the University College London (UCL) Department of Philosophy. However, there is no evidence showing that he successfully obtained his BA degree from UCL.
Career
Wang is the chairman of Prometheus Capital, a private equity company he founded with 500 million RMB that his father gave to him 'for trial and error'. He is a director of the Dalian Wanda Group.
In 2011 Wang founded the professional esports organization Invictus Gaming (iG). IG went on to win The International 2012 Dota 2 championship the next year, as well as the League of Legends Worlds Championship in 2018.
Wang reportedly spent US$516.7 million on the construction of the Wanda Reign seven-star hotel in Shanghai, which opened in June 2016. The hotel was designed by the British architect Norman Foster.
Wang also founded the music management company Banana Culture in 2015. As of 2017 it was managing the Chinese promotions for Korean pop groups T-ara and EXID. In 2021, the company was acquired by VSPN. Wang was given the function of "vice chairman of the company’s strategy committee" following the acquisition.
On November 27, 2023, Wang and the Tai'an Municipal Government signed a cultural tourism project with a total investment of approximately 3.7 billion yuan.
Panda TV
In 2015, Sicong launched Panda TV, an e-sports streaming channel designed to compete with Amazon's Twitch. In March 2019, CEO Zhang Juyuan announced that Panda TV would cease operations due to cash flow problems. According to financial news sources in China, broadband server expenses and celebrity streamer salaries were too high to sustain operations. Sicong had a 40% share in the company. Tencent took Panda TV's place as China's main game streaming platform. Following the bankruptcy of Panda TV, a Beijing court shortly imposed spending limits on him as he paid back investors.
According to reporting by 21st Century Business Herald, after the failure of Panda TV, his father refused to provide financial support to cover his losses, but his mother supported Wang with another 100 million RMB.
Public image
Wang is frequently nicknamed online as "the people's husband", "China's most eligible bachelor", or "China's richest son".
Wang is considered an example of fu'erdai, known for throwing parties, posting pictures which flaunt his wealth, and speaking with celebrities. He was widely criticized when stating the criteria of his potential partners, with one of the requirements being "buxom". In 2021 he attracted controversy over abusive comments he made against a female celebrity after being romantically rejected.