Chen Guangbiao was born in a small barren county town in northern Jiangsu, and his hometown has nothing to do with the word "rich".
As a child, Chen Guangbiao was often tormented by hunger, and his family of five struggled to survive, two of whom died due to long-term lack of food, which made Chen Guangbiao have a fear of the word "hunger".
What scared him even more was his father's tyrannical fist.
The father has a bad temper and beats and scolds his children at every turn, and Chen Guangbiao is often beaten by him for no reason. Once, Chen Guangbiao accidentally knocked down a pile of wheat straw, his father was furious and slapped his whole body with a fork, Chen Guangbiao vomited blood on the spot and fell into a coma, broke one of his legs, and suffered a heavy blow to his lungs, which became a psychological shadow for his life.
With the support of his neighbors, Chen Guangbiao escaped from the clutches of death, but he was already desperate for this kind of domestic violence. He decided to end his life and tried to hang himself, but fortunately he was found and saved in time.
This escape from death made Chen Guangbiao understand the preciousness of life. He made up his mind to change his fate through reading and stay away from his father's violence. For this reason, Chen Guangbiao began to carry water to the market to sell, relying on this meager income to pay for tuition; When it was harvest time, he rode his bicycle to buy wheat and sell it.
In this way, 17-year-old Chen Guangbiao has accumulated 20,000 yuan and has become the first "young 10,000 yuan household" in the town, and he also has the confidence to change the fate of other poor children.
At the age of 28, Chen Guangbiao's first company was finally born, which also allowed him to slowly reach the peak of his career. However, Chen Guangbiao, who was temporarily freed from poverty, did not forget his origins.
When he heard that a leukemia patient could not be treated due to family constraints, Chen Guangbiao immediately drove to the hospital and paid 30,000 yuan out of his own pocket – which was more than double the annual profit of his start-up company.
When the patient and his companions were stunned when they saw the banknotes, Chen Guangbiao whispered to the patient that if they didn't have enough money, they would come back to him. In 2003, when SARS swept across the country, Chen Guangbiao opened and released the inventory of his medical device company, and donated tens of millions of medical supplies.
In the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, Chen Guangbiao personally led a rescue team and saved a total of 131 lives. His burning enthusiasm and overflowing kindness made the reputation of "China's first benevolent" spread.
According to statistics, Chen Guangbiao's total charity expenditure in the past ten years has exceeded 4 billion yuan.
However, frequent charitable donations and relief actions have also attracted a lot of criticism for Chen. In 2010, he built a "cash wall" with neatly folded renminbi and was interviewed by the media under the spotlight, which was criticized for "grandstanding".
After the 2011 earthquake in Japan, Chen Guangbiao took the lead in donating condolences, which also caused controversy in the atmosphere at the time. In 2014, Chen Guangbiao was most embarrassed by a banquet for homeless people in New York, promising everyone a $300 relief payment.
He thought that he could finally use this act of kindness to completely establish the image of "the first benevolent", but the so-called "United Nations Certificate of Honor" awarded to him that night was quickly pointed out as a hoax.
Public opinion frantically criticized Chen Guangbiao for his fraud and self-directing, and countless questioning eyes surged towards him. Chen Guangbiao bitterly explained that he was also a victim, but the public's distrust was deeply rooted, and in desperation, he had no choice but to retire and temporarily stay out of the public eye.
Despite the gloom of public opinion, Chen Guangbiao still did not give up his cause of kindness. In recent years, he has continued to quietly participate in various public welfare activities, dedicating himself to helping the disadvantaged.
According to statistics from the Everbright Healthcare Foundation, in 2020 and 2021 alone, Chen Guangbiao's total philanthropic investment exceeded RMB1.3 billion. During the burial period of "poverty alleviation" this year, Chen Guangbiao led the team to carry out the live broadcast of "Sowing Family Wealth" to help poor villages, and also returned to the rural fields to work and experience life with the masses.
In April, when the epidemic was raging, he once again donated 6 million yuan worth of daily necessities to front-line sanitation workers in Nanjing. The once high-profile is no longer visible, replaced by down-to-earth hard work.
Chen Guangbiao no longer craves the recognition of the outside world as before, he only hopes to practice the theme of "first goodness" to the end, and practice his original intention with actions.
Looking back at Chen Guangbiao's life, it is not difficult for us to see that the most valuable wealth of a successful entrepreneur is not only money, but the heart of great love that has sacrificed to save the common people.
Despite the ups and downs on the road, Chen Guangbiao has never forgotten his original intention. His experience is an inspiration to understand that while pursuing a career, it is also important to stand up and bring warmth to others.
Chen's act of kindness has also silently shattered people's stereotypes of entrepreneurs, proving that business elites can also take responsibility for giving back to society. We should not deny the value of his good deeds because of individual controversies, but rather focus on the tangible contributions he made to the poor.
When we look at Chen Guangbiao's heart with tolerance and understanding, we will find that behind the appearance of money and fame and fortune, there is a pure heart that sincerely dedicates himself to public welfare.