Jakarta –
Amidst the global spotlight on overseas investments, Chen Tianqiao, a billionaire credited with pioneering the online gaming industry from China, has achieved the extraordinary feat of becoming the second-largest overseas owner of US land.
With his ownership of nearly 4,047 square meters of forest land in Oregon, Chen is now listed as the 82nd largest property owner in America, according to Land Report.
Chen Tianqiao, at the age of 50, acquired a large plot of land in Oregon from Fidelity National Financial Ventures for US$ 85 million or the equivalent of Rp. 1.3 trillion in 2015.
According to the New York Post, Thursday (11/1/2024), even though this transaction was almost a decade ago, his name recently appeared on the list of the Top 100 American Landowners. Currently, Chen is second only to the Irving family of Canada on the list of foreign land holdings.
Chen, who founded online gaming company Shanda Interactive in 1999, achieved great success in the first five years of its founding. Shanda Interactive became one of China’s largest internet companies with popular games such as “The Word of Legend,” “Dungeons & Dragons Online,” and “Final Fantasy XIV.”
In 2012, Chen made the decision to take his company private and move Shanda Investment Group from China to Singapore.
Apart from being the second largest land owner from abroad, Chen also shows his intelligence in investing. Rural property, especially forested land in America, is becoming a sought-after asset for ultra-wealthy investors like Chen.
Bloomberg reports that the average value of farmland in the US jumped 8.1% in 2023, and American farmland has increased by more than a third in value since 2020, according to data from the US Department of Agriculture.
Investment Diversification and Philanthropy
Not just limited to land holdings, Chen’s investments also involve public and private equity as well as venture capital, in line with his portfolio diversification strategy as stated on Shanda’s website. In 2018, Chen and his wife, Chrissy Luo, bought the Vanderbilt Mansion in Manhattan for US$ 39 million or Rp. 606 billion. In 2021, they were involved in the purchase of the historic Seeley Mudd Estate in suburban Los Angeles for US$ 25 million or Rp. 389 billion.
In addition, the couple demonstrated their philanthropic commitment by making an initial founding donation of US$ 115 million or Rp. 1.8 billion to the Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute for Neuroscience at the California Institute of Technology in 2016. This institution aims to deepen the understanding of brain structure. and how the brain functions at a basic level.
Chen Tianqiao continues to etch his name in history as a pioneer of the online gaming industry and a billionaire with brilliant investment outlook. With his vast land holdings in the United States, he not only demonstrated his success in the business world, but also his ability to understand and follow emerging investment trends.
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2024-01-12 04:04:59
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