Despite an Attempt to Block Sale of His NY Apartment, Chinese Fugitive Billionaire Guo Wengui Buys Another#
Chinese fugitive billionaire Guo Wengui (pictured above), who is in the process of being sued by Chinese actress and darling of luxury brands Fan Bingbing for defamation, does not seem to be bothered by all of the recent claims against him filed in state courts in New York. On July 11, he posted a video on his official Twitter account, showcasing a new luxury apartment he just purchased on Park Avenue.
The tweet, which reads “Wengui’s new home," shows a 360-degree view from new place, which overlooks New York landmarks including the United Nations, the Statue of Liberty and Central Park. The new purchase is particularly interesting since on July 10, it was reported that a Hong Kong hedge fund sought to block the sale of another luxury apartment, a 9,000-square-foot penthouse owned by Wengui at New York's Sherry Netherland hotel, which is on the market for 78 million. Of all fugitive tycoons, Wengui is one of the most wanted by Chinese government for the allegations over corruption. Aside from the lawsuit with Pacific Alliance Asia Opportunity Fund, he has been recently sued by several other parties including Fan.
Alessandro Bogliolo to Start as Tiffany & Co's CEO in October#
The newly-named CEO of Tiffany & Co is no stranger to the luxury industry. The veteran industry executive has, in the past four years, acted as CEO of Diesel USA. Prior to that, he was the COO at Sephora and Bulgari, and had been VP for five years at Piaggio Group in China. To luxury industry insiders, his appointment is considered an effort to revamp Tiffany’s brand image to target millennials and to boost its falling sales. A luxury jewelry classic made iconic by Audrey Hepburn in "Breakfast at Tiffany's," Tiffany’s relationship with China goes way back. It was declared the number one American luxury brand for Chinese shoppers in 2015 and has had a series of campaigns specifically targeting Chinese consumers. It is highly anticipated that Bogliolo will play a big part in the brand’s future performance in the Chinese market. He is expected to start on Oct. 2.
LeEco Founder Jia Yueting Resigns#
The past couple months has been really rough for Jia Yueting, the Chinese tycoon behind tech company LeEco and key investor to luxury electric car startup Faraday Future. In 2004, Jia founded LeTV.com, formally known as Leshi Internet Information & Technology Inc., a video streaming portal similar to Youtube. The company later expanded its business to produce electronic devices such as smartphones and TVs and rebranded as LeEco. Jia was reportedly having financial problems early this year and in July, his assets amounting to 1.24 billion yuan (183 million) were frozen by a China court. On July 6, Jia resigned as the Chairman of the company, citing personal reasons, and, earlier this month, halted construction on his electric car factory in Las Vegas.
Liu Qiangdong's Beef With Alibaba#
CEO of Jingdong Mall, or JD.com, Liu Qiangdong’s business venture and social life have been under constant spotlight on social media in China of late. He became the center of attention again this week when JD.com leveled a not-so-veiled accusation on social media at Alibaba for the e-commerce rival's supposed monopolistic business practices. Prior to creating his business empire, Liu graduated from the prestigious People’s University of China in 1996. During his time in college, he reportedly attempted to start a catering company but failed after two months. Liu currently resides in Beijing with his wife, Zhang Zetian, and their daughter.