He is Jewish, billionaire and founder of Hong Kong's famous Lan Kwai Fong.
However, in 2008, he made a move that was criticized by foreign media as a "madman", giving up his American and Canadian citizenship, carrying all his wealth and joining Chinese nationality.
Not only that, he also said that he was a Chinese with a western face, and even insisted that becoming a Chinese citizen was the most correct choice in his life.
His name is Chi Man Sheng, and he is a prominent figure in Hong Kong's business and fashion industry.
How did he cross half the world and finally settle in Hong Kong? Let's walk into his story.
Born in 1950 to an ordinary Jewish German family, his father was a tailor and his mother was a medical worker.
When he was 7 years old, his father died, and in order to make a living, his mother took him to immigrate to Canada and live in Montreal, relying on his mother's meager income, the mother and son barely got by.
However, Sheng Zhiwen was not willing to accept such a life situation, and began to work part-time and go to school at a young age, showing his extraordinary ability to make money.
When he was 10, he was walking the streets delivering newspapers, and when he was 12, he used his weekends to work as a handyman at a steakhouse, cleaning tables and cleaning up dishes, earning $60 a week, more than a teacher.
With time and hard work, when Sheng Zhiwen was 16 years old, he bought a Chevrolet convertible and became the only student in school who had his own car.
Young and spirited, Sheng Zhiwen was intoxicated with the joy of making money.
When he graduated from high school, Sheng Zhiwen made a surprising move, he gave up going to college and entered the society to find a job.
Soon, he applied to work as a courier for a women's underwear company.
The work of the consignor is monotonous and boring, that is, to prepare the salesman in the warehouse every day and fill out the list.
However, Sheng Zhiwen found the clue through the chat with the salesman, and knew that the salesman relied on the commission and had a lot of income.
Sheng Zhiwen was deeply touched, and he decided to become a salesman as well.
In order to broaden his horizons, Sheng Zhiwen quit his job as a courier, he dressed in a suit and leather shoes, pretended to be 22 years old, and applied to Canada's largest clothing company as a showroom salesman.
Sheng Zhiwen, who entered the clothing company, worked hard and excellently, not only learned industry-related knowledge, but also appreciated and promoted by the boss.
But Mr. Sheng, 19, is ambitious, he thinks others can do it, he can do it himself, and he wants to start his own business.
Mr. Sheng started a company that imported women's sweaters, sourcing ready-to-wear from Hong Kong and then moving to the North American market to sell. Due to the reasonable price of ready-to-wear clothing and good market response, the supply of goods exceeded demand, and by the end of the year, he had earned $1 million.
Sheng Zhiwen was excited, but after paying 50% of the tax, he was like an eggplant beaten by frost, and the money in hand was only 425,000 US dollars, and he was very frustrated when he was young and vigorous.
The mountains and heavy waters have no way, and there is another village.
Sheng Zhiwen was very troubled by the tax rate, when he went to Hong Kong to purchase again, tentatively asked his peers about the Hong Kong tax rate, when he heard that it was only 15%, he had a bright idea and decided to move the company to Hong Kong.
In fact, Hong Kong is an international metropolis, a super contact between the East and the West, and its strong business atmosphere and positive living atmosphere have long made Sheng Zhiwen happy.
In 1969, under the age of 20, Sheng Zhiwen came to Hong Kong alone to do business, and began his half-century entrepreneurial life in China.
Opportunities are fleeting and can be encountered but not sought.
The sixties and seventies were the golden age of Hong Kong's textile and garment industry, and the market was not only huge, but also ultra-low tax rates, which made many businessmen flock to it.
Sensing the opportunity, he set up a trading company in Hong Kong and registered his own clothing brand, Colby.
Then, Sheng Zhiwen bought train tickets from the black market, squeezed the 14-hour green-skinned hard-seat train, and non-stop patrolled around the Chinese mainland to find ready-to-wear factories.
Soon his clothing company was on the right track, from placing orders to production and then exporting to developed regions such as Canada and the United States, forming a virtuous circle.
After years of hard work, Son's trading company has reached 35 offices around the world, with 4,200 suppliers and 600 employees, in 55 countries and regions.
However, Zhiwen did not stand still, he set his sights on the entertainment industry, it turned out that he often heard complaints from business partners that there is no decent leisure and entertainment venue in Hong Kong, and all activities must be carried out in hotels, which is boring and inconvenient.
The speaker has no intention, the listener has a heart.
Zyman began looking for a place and found a sloping alley across the street from Queen's Road in Central, which was not only narrow, but also dirty and messy.
At first, Sheng Zhiwen first opened a California restaurant, the taste is authentic and stylish, but he did not expect that the business was very hot, and he decisively invested 32 million Hong Kong dollars, based on his experience in traveling to other cities for many years, adhering to the concept of welcoming everyone and making everyone happy, he built restaurants, bars and other entertainment venues, and named it "Lan Kwai Fong".
When night falls, people of all colors flock to "Lan Kwai Fong" to party, under the lights and wine, or drink freely, or talk highly, so that it is not comfortable; The annual "Lan Kwai Fong Carnival" is even more lively.
The reputation of "Lan Kwai Fong" has spread ten, ten and hundred, originally Sheng Zhiwen's unintentional move to insert willows, but he never thought about it but became a landmark in Hong Kong, and even had the reputation of "the first street of Asian nightclubs", he was known as the father of "Lan Kwai Fong".
Gains and losses, Wisdom Man Cent's Colby failed to apply twice for listing on the Growth Enterprise Market (GEM), and in late 2000, he sold Colby to Li & Fung Group for HK$2.2 billion, and concentrated on running "Lan Kwai Fong".
However, Sheng Chi's culture decayed into a magical reputation, and he became a household name in Hong Kong, and even the then chief executive, Tung Chee-hwa, considered him creative.
At a time when Ocean Park Hong Kong has been losing money for years, whether to keep or close as a government-run park, and Disney Parks are also stationed in Hong Kong, Tung Chee-hwa is a little undecided, and he appointed Zeman Sheng as the chairman of the board of directors of Ocean Theme Park.
Receiving such a hot potato, Sheng Zhiwen had a headache, he didn't know anything about Ocean Park, let alone start, but he couldn't stand Tung Chee-hwa's warm invitation by phone 6 times, and he decided to inspect Ocean Park.
Located on a hillside, the park is in disrepair and dilapidated. Simon Zhiwen, however, found its advantages, not only the unique geographical location, but also the deep water bay, cable cars, etc., he believes that after renovation, it will shine.
Seeing the global recruitment of talents, the formation of a management team, the organization of market research, and the presentation of relevant plans to the government, he received HK$5.55 billion in funding to restore Ocean Park.
The number of new Ocean Park attractions has increased from 35 to 80, and in order to increase the popularity of the park, Sheng Zhiwen wore jellyfish clothes to participate in the press conference, which attracted the attention of the media, and the weather vane of public opinion pointed to him. Sheng Zhiwen feels that he is a living advertisement, and to make tourists happy, he also dresses up as gypsy girls, Santa Claus and so on.
Sure enough, Ocean Park is full of tourists, with an annual net income of HK$100 million, and has won the world's top theme park award.
Sheng Zhiwen is happy and proud. He put a lot of thought into Ocean Park, but during his tenure as chairman of the board, he did not receive any compensation.
Zeman has successfully created two of Hong Kong's classic business cards, Lan Kwai Fong and Ocean Park.
He continued to swim in the business sea, engaged in real estate, invested in movies, etc., and the fields he set foot in were all very profitable, and his fame was as hot as the sky, and the United States even threw him an olive branch and invited him to join, but he was not moved.
In 2008, he made the amazing move of becoming a Chinese citizen and truly becoming a Hong Kong native.
My peace of mind is my hometown.
Sheng Zhiwen has personally witnessed and witnessed the earth-shaking changes in China's reform and opening up, as well as the rapid changes since Hong Kong's return to the motherland. But more importantly, he has unknowingly integrated into Hong Kong life, speaking Cantonese, watching Hong Kong movies, listening to Cantonese songs, eating Hong Kong morning tea, quicksand bags and so on.
He knows that his achievements and wealth today are given to him by Hong Kong, and he said that China is a magical country that can make people feel a strong sense of belonging and do not want to leave, and he is tired of being called "ghost guy".
In addition to becoming a Chinese citizen, he added tens of billions of dollars to China's total wealth abroad, and he was appointed as a member of the SAR government and a number of public institutions to work on the construction of Hong Kong.
In 2011, Zeman was awarded the Grand Bauhinia Medal by the Hong Kong government, which is enough to show his contribution to Hong Kong and Hong Kong's recognition of him.
On the 2019 National Day, Sheng Zhiwen was invited to Beijing to participate in the celebration, and he was so excited that he burst into tears in the viewing area, he understood that this was a great honor, which was the central government's affirmation of him.
In order to better serve Hong Kong, in 2021, Zeman Sheng participated in the election of the seventh Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, although he lost by 15 votes, he felt that it was an honor to participate in the Legislative Council election, and he believed that the future of Hong Kong would become more and more stable.
Today, Sheng Zhiwen, who has reached the age of antiquity, is extremely self-disciplined, works out every day, and goes to the office on time to deal with various affairs, he likes to be with young people, encourages young people to look east, do not look west, want to start a business, do not be afraid of difficulties, and show all courage to do what they like.
Sheng Zhiwen also often goes to the university to participate in exchange meetings, standing collar shirt, shirt buttons are buttoned at will, no tie, right hand silver-black snake accessories, is his signature dress, there is an indescribable coolness, but the eyebrows between the words dance, witty and vivid, making him immediately become an "interesting old man".
Sheng Zhiwen, who has lived in China for half a century, has completely become a Chinese.
Sheng Zhiwen, a Jew, relied on his own mind and vision, from youth ignorance, all the way to hard work, and finally took root in Hong Kong, fulfilled his dream, and obtained the wealth and status that others dreamed of.
His success, in addition to the general environment is like a tiger, more importantly, he followed the times and made the right choice every time with the courage to break the cauldron, which is admirable.
In fact, life is a process of continuous choice, at any time, conform to your heart, do not entangle, do not hesitate, the most precious.
-END-
Author: Muhiko
Editor: Grass
Recommended articles from previous issues:
Shi Nanyin: When I was 16 years old, I appeared on the 1 yuan bill because I was too beautiful, what happened now?
An old man saved 1.2 million yuan in the bank for 15 years, and his son got married to withdraw it, and the bank: You still owe 130,000