Businesswoman Peggy Yu met her husband Li Guoqing – a book publisher – in 1996. They quickly got married after dating for three months. Three years later, in 1999, this couple launched Dangdang, the largest online book retail service in China, dubbed the “Chinese version of Amazon.” It is estimated that the couple’s net worth is around 1 billion USD.
Yesterday, on May 28, during a live broadcast program titled “Dare to Ask, Dare to Answer,” Li Guoqing revealed a surprising past. It turns out that when their son was young, this billionaire couple often pretended to be poor to nurture their child’s motivation to learn independence.
However, pretending to be poor was not an easy task. Li Guoqing stated that to “fool” their clever son, they had to intentionally rent a small house and then every day “send their child” with a private driver to take him to school. When their son grew older and could take the bus by himself, they had to hire a nanny to accompany him on every trip.
Not only that, to inspire their son towards success, he also took his child to view the coastal villas of billionaires to motivate him to study harder.
Li Guoqing also shared a memorable story about his child’s filial piety when he was young. During one car ride, the boy told the driver that the Audi they were in had no place for a cup. The driver jokingly suggested that he could write a letter about his opinion to the chairman of Audi. Li Guoqing’s son then said: “That would be great, if I could, I would ask him for 500,000 USD. I would buy a house for my parents.”
However, a few years ago, this couple’s relationship faced many challenges. The 55-year-old businesswoman has since gained control of the company and gradually pushed her husband out of all work-related connections. In early 2019, Mr. Li resigned and announced he would not participate in any activities related to Dangdang.
Their son, affectionately known as Xander, has very little personal information disclosed to the media. However, in an interview, Peggy Yu mentioned that her child had “refused to learn how to use chopsticks and has breakfast at McDonald’s every day.” At the age of 14, he participated in stand-up comedy and also has a small business.
“He has a great business sense and is very independent. The two of us often view each other as motivation to strive for success,” Mrs. Yu proudly stated.
Source: NetEase