| GUO Guangchang 郭广昌 郭廣昌 |
|
|---|---|
| Born | 1967 Dongyang, Zhejiang, PRC |
| Alma mater | Fudan |
| Occupation | Founder & Chairman Fosun International Limited |
| Net worth | US$4.1 billion (2007)[1] |
Guo Guangchang (Traditional: 郭廣昌; Simplified: 郭广昌) (born 1967), is a Chinese entrepreneur. He is the chairman of Fosun International Limited and the representative of 10th National People's Congress. Guo is currently one of the wealthiest men in Mainland China. Guo Guangchang is often regarded as China's own Warren Buffett by publications such as Financial Times.
Guo was born in Dongyang, Jinhua, Zhejiang, China. Guo was born as a low class farmer's child during the Mao Zedong era. His childhood was hard as was most of the Chinese countryside during this era. He went to a very good high school though his parents forbid him to go so he ran away taking a straw mat and several bags of rice. He graduated from the Department of Philosophy at Fudan University, Shanghai, one of the most prestigious universities in China.
In 1992, Guo resigned after 3 years of working for the Youth Union of Fudan University. Guo went on to establish his first company, Guangxin Technology Development Company, a market research firm which seized the opportunities brought by the opening up of Shanghai to global companies.
In 1994, Guo started his amazing business career by setting up Fosun Group with 3 schoolmates, all of whom graduated from the Department of Genetic Engineering of Fudan University. The company earned 100 million yuan from selling medicine against the hepatitis B virus, and this experience laid the foundation for today's Fosun Pharma, a publicly listed firm on Shanghai Stock Exchange. Fosun has since invested in other sectors, including property, steel, mining, retail, financial services and private equity investments. It is currently the largest privately owned investment company in China.
Guo has stated that he admires the business skills of Li Ka Shing, Hong Kong's richest billionaire. Guo Guangchang also indicates that he would like to learn from Warren Buffett given his success in value investment. In 2010, Fosun acquired 9 percent of Club Med's shares, a French resort chain, as a starting point of Fosun's globalization of investment. Fosun also announced its first overseas private equity fund set up together with Prudential Financial Inc. in 2011.
Guo was given an award in the United States by former president Clinton for his role in helping change China so dramatically in the last century.
Guo is often the only person the Chinese government will talk to on the subject of privatizing the state run companies.