Recycling tycoon Chen Guangbiao is the Chinese multi-millionaire who wanted to buy the New York Times. Outside of his fledgling media venture, he is probably best known for what he calls his "flashy" style of philanthropy, and accompanying bizarre publicity stunts. These have included posing in front of stacks of money to encourage people to take part in the national economic census, personally rescuing 13 people from the debris of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, and selling cans of ‘fresh air’ during heavy pollution in Beijing.
Chen’s obviously a busy man, but fortunately a quick summary of his achievements can be found on his English language business card:
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[Image via Business Insider]
The card, which claims Chen is the “most influential person of China [sic]” and “China moral leader" (no one is sure how these titles were acquired), was handed out to US journalists on his recent trip to New York.
This isn’t just a treat for the foreign press – he’s handed out a similar Chinese card to journalists for several years. This card describes the China top 400 millionaire as an “outstanding builder of socialism with Chinese characteristics,” and one of “China's top ten outstanding volunteers”.
Even with all his admirable qualities, Chen’s recent bid for the New York Times was still unsuccessful. On Tuesday he admitted that the New York Times Co executive he had planned to meet with sent him a memo cancelling their scheduled meeting. Chen, who once declared "there's nothing that can't be bought for the right price," has remained unfazed by the rejection is now eyeing the Wall Street Journal as his next big media purchase. "I am going to talk to the Wall Street Journal and find out if it's for sale," he said.
In a televised interview Chen said he was aware that many American newspapers were owned by Jewish people (though not the paper he is now purportedly attempting to buy) and he believed he could play this to his advantage.
"I am very good at working with Jews," he said. According to Chen, this special talent apparently comes from his IQ and EQ which he described as "equally competent" to Jewish people.
[Image via ECNS]
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