KINIGUIDE | Following the termination of Iskandar Waterfront Holdings (IWH) and China Railway Engineering Corp (CREC) consortium’s RM7.4 billion 60 percent stake in Bandar Malaysia, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak paid a visit to Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group in his latest trip to China.

During the visit, Najib had expressed confidence in Wanda’s ability to do “great things” in Bandar Malaysia.

Although a deal has yet to be signed between the two, many cannot help but wonder what or rather who is behind the world’s biggest private property developer.

So who founded Wanda?

The real estate and entertainment conglomerate was founded in 1988 by Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin, who, up until last week, was China’s richest man until he was overtaken by Alibaba Group founder Jack Ma.

Forbes estimated that Ma’s fortune was worth US$30.9 billion. Wang follows closely behind with a staggering fortune of US$30.7 billion.

Following in the footsteps of his father who had a career in the military, the 62-year-old spent sixteen years in the People’s Liberation Army, where he rose from border guard to regimental commander.

After leaving the People’s Liberation Army in 1986, Wang started working as an office administrator for the Xigang district government in Dalian.

He managed to turn around a failing state-owned property developer after obtaining a loan with the help of an army friend. Wang became chairperson of Wanda, a post he has held since 1989.

Turning the company into a moneymaking enterprise, Wang grew his empire by building his signature Wanda Plazas across China.

What has Wanda acquired?

Keeping true to its entertainment nature, Wanda in 2012 acquired US-based cinema operator AMC Theatres, which turned Wanda Cinemas into the world’s largest cinema operator. Two years later, Wanda Cinemas announced that it had acquired Australian cinema chain Hoyts.

Wang started making aggressive moves into Hollywood last year. His conglomerate acquired Legendary Entertainment for US$3.5 billion, which made Wanda Film Holdings the highest revenue-generating film company in the world.

Wanda acquired entertainment marketing and product placement agency Propaganda GEM in May last year before it announced a major partnership with Sony Pictures Entertainment, in which it will take minority investments in a number of upcoming releases.

This deal followed Wanda’s failed bid to acquire a stake in Paramount Pictures.

Were there other deals that turned sour?

Paramount Pictures was not the only failed acquisition by Wanda.

In November last year, Wanda announced it would buy TV production company Dick Clark Productions - known for producing the Golden Globe Awards, among others - for around US$1 billion.

The deal, however, fell through.

The Los Angeles Times cited Dick Clark Productions owner Eldridge Industries as saying in March this year that it had called off the agreement after Wanda failed to complete the sale.

Citing multiple people familiar with the matter, Wanda and the Chinese government had purportedly balked at the hefty purchase price promised to Dick Clark Productions.

Had the acquisition been successful, it would have been Wanda’s first foray into television.

What about other ventures besides entertainment?

Wang in 2015 bought a 20 percent stake of Spanish football club Atletico Madrid.

And just last year, Wang reached an agreement with football governing body Fifa for Wanda to host an annual China Cup tournament, which will begin this year.

The other side to Wang

Wang is a member of the Communist Party of China and had once served as a deputy to the party’s 17th National Congress.

Business and politics aside, Wang has a lighter side to him, too. The billionaire is an avid fan of karaoke.

He showed off his singing skills at a private Wanda event last year. Earlier this year, he again took to the stage at his company’s year-end corporate gathering.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Wang belted out Chinese rock songs and serenaded his staff with a romantic ballad during his performance, which was complete with a live band and professional dancers.

What about Wang’s family life?

Married to Lin Ning, the couple only has one child, 29-year-old Wang Sicong.

However, not much is known about Lin. For the wife of one of the richest men in China, she has remained quite private.

Media reports, however, state that she owns social clubs in Beijing and Dalian. She is also listed as chairperson at Lin investment group, established in 1994, which specialises in areas such as construction, interior design and food service in China.

On the other hand, the couple’s only son is an outspoken figure, to say the least.

Once enrolled at University College London, the younger Wang did not complete his studies for a degree in philosophy, leaving after only a year into the course.

Be that as it may, Sicong is currently a board member of Wanda and is a venture capitalist through his private equity fund, Prometheus Capital.

Digital gaming is both Sicong’s hobby and favourite field of moneymaking. He founded Invictus Gaming in 2011, an e-sports organisation founded to promote e-sports in China.

So is he your typical rich brat?

Sicong is particularly known in China for his eccentricity and spending habits.

A fan of karaoke like his father, he once blew US$385,000 on a single night out at a karaoke bar in Beijing.

He also made headlines worldwide after he gave his pet dog Coco eight new iPhone 7s, last year.

That was however not the first time Sicong made headlines together with his dog. Coco was given two rose gold Apple iWatches - one for each front paw - the previous year.

News reports claimed that Sicong also lavishes his beloved pet with designer handbags, custom-made birthday cakes and trips on private jets.

Apart from blowing money, the eligible bachelor is also known for making foot-in-mouth comments.

Sicong in 2015 told reporters that any potential girlfriend had to be large-breasted. His comments were criticised by state-run news service Xinhua in an editorial.

Known for his ever-changing bevy of actresses and models in his arm, Sicong is also known to be a very generous boyfriend.

The playboy purportedly bought one of his former girlfriends a Maserati and dozens of Chanel bags.

This instalment of KiniGuide is compiled by Alyaa Azhar.