Chen Tianqiao (Chinese: 陈天桥; pinyin: Chén Tiānqiáo); born 1973) is a Chinese businessman who founded Shanda.
Early life and education
Chen was born in Xinchang County, Zhejiang Province, China in 1973 and grew up near Shanghai with his younger brother Danian.[1][2] His father was an engineer and his mother was a middle school English teacher. He earned his bachelor's degree in economics from Fudan University in 1993.[3][4]
Career
Chen started at the state-ownedproperty developer Shanghai Lujiazui Group in 1994, holding management positions in the public relations office before becoming secretary to the chairman. In 1998, he became the vice director of the office of the president at Kinghing Trust & Investment before resigning in 1999.[3][4]
Shanda Group went private in early 2012, with Chen, his wife, and his brother keeping a combined 57% stake.[3] In 2015, Chen, as the beneficial owner of Shanda Asset Management, acquired over 80,127 hectares of land in Oregon from Fidelity National Financial for US$85 million, making him one of the largest foreign owners of land in the United States.[9][10]
Tianqiao Chen and his family sold all their stakes in Shanda Games in November 2014,[citation needed] after which Shanda Group refocused on investing.[2]
With Chen remaining chairman and CEO, by early 2017 Shanda Group was the majority shareholder of Legg Mason, Lending Club, and Community Health Systems.[11][12][13][14] It also had property operations in China and North America and stakes in companies such as Sotheby's.[12] Shanda sold its stakes in Sotheby's in 2017 and then it sold its stake Legg Mason later that year, and then Chen resigned as vice-chairman of the Legg Mason board.[5][15] Chen has invested in the venture funds Propel(x) and Ubiquity Ventures.[16]
Ranked on various rich lists,[4][17] Chen personally had $4 billion in net value in 2017 and was ranked as the 93rd richest person in China, according to the Hurun Report.[18][19]
In 2018, Chen purchased 500,000 acres in Ontario.[20] The same year, the Committee of 100 gave Chen an award for Lifetime Achievement as Tech Entrepreneur.[21]
Chen is chairman of the Shanda Group,[11] and is also on the boards of various portfolio companies.[15][27]
Personal life
Chen is married to Qianqian "Chrissy" Luo.[3] They moved from Shanghai to Singapore in 2009,[1][4] then from Singapore to the Bay Area of California in late 2017.[1][4][28] They are currently residents of Menlo Park, California.[29] In 2018, Chen bought a historic mansion built for Alice Gwynne Vanderbilt in 1881 on East 69th Street in the Upper East Side of Manhattan for $39 million.[30][31]
^"从团干部到企业家有多远" [How far is it from a league cadre to an entrepreneur?]. China Youth Daily (in Chinese). 13 November 2007. Archived from the original on 14 November 2007. Retrieved 2024-01-13.
^"十一届全国政协委员职务和界别情况（7）" [Positions and sectors of members of the 11th CPPCC National Committee]. Government of China (in Chinese). February 27, 2008. Archived from the original on 3 March 2008. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
^"第十一届全国政协委员名单" [List of members of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference] (in Chinese). Xinhua News Agency. 3 March 2009. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013.
^"中国人民政治协商会议第十二届全国委员会委员名单" [List of members of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference]. People's Daily (in Chinese). June 26, 2014. Archived from the original on 2017-09-23. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
