The Birth of Shanghai's First Conglomerate

Chen Pingsheng's words were calm, but when he finished speaking, it was like a thunderclap from a clear sky.

This shocked countless wealthy families.

The Chen family of Shanghai is such a powerful business family, and they have several outstanding talents. Now, in the twilight of their lives, they are going to give up everything they have built.

To completely switch to a public system is tantamount to giving up the family's influence.

Use one family to help more people succeed.

Even though there was no interview session, countless reporters stood up immediately, including Mu Qingqing, a financial reporter who became famous for interviewing the retired vice president of Tencent Film Group.

"Mr. Chen, why did you suddenly make this decision?"

Chen Pingsheng looked at her; she was still the same as he remembered, only it had been some years since he had last seen her.

"This is actually quite simple. The main point is that I personally believe our Chen family is already rich enough. Even with our current accumulation, we could be wealthy for ten or even a hundred generations without any problem. But business is different. If I only think about passing the business on to my family, sooner or later these businesses will decline rapidly because each generation is worse than the last."

Chen Pingsheng said with a smile: "Although I am reluctant to admit it, it is really easy for people's descendants to become worse with each generation. For example, in my Chen family, three generations have actually produced fans of celebrities. This behavior, which seems very outrageous to us, is considered very normal by them. I believe that this is not only the case in my Chen family, but also in wealthy families. Private enterprises are different from monopolistic state-owned enterprises. They are in market competition and must always maintain a sense of crisis. As long as an unsuitable successor appears, the company may soon be gone."

"This is the answer from a market perspective. Another key point is that I firmly believe that only when the Chinese people are doing well will we truly be doing well, and only then will our companies be doing well."

"If things continue as they were before, with money concentrated in the hands of a few wealthy individuals who then spend that money abroad, it will create an endless vicious cycle."

"Therefore, I, Chen Pingsheng, would like to call on everyone here today that once a company reaches a certain size, it should not be just one or two companies, but should become a social enterprise, serving its employees and fulfilling its social responsibilities."

"The fact that everyone here is already well-off means that they are not short of money. Since they are not short of money, the only thing they can pursue is power. However, it is very dangerous to pursue this too much in China."

"I hope everyone can also be more vigilant."

This was a reminder, but he wouldn't say much more.

Mu Qingqing still got the answer she wanted from two aspects.

But she immediately asked the next question.

"Mr. Chen, after the Economic Research Island opens up, will we journalists also be allowed to visit it? Also, is it really necessary to involve those working at the grassroots level of the industry in the decision-making process?"

"This question is still somewhat meaningful."

Chen Pingsheng said, "In recent years, I don't know if everyone has noticed, but many experts' opinions can be said to provoke public outrage as soon as they are spoken. Why? Mainly because they are out of touch with reality, like 'Why don't they eat cake?' When it comes to reforms in grassroots industries, including welfare design, if you don't invite these people to participate and just rely on those professors and economists sitting in their offices enjoying air conditioning to design it, I personally think that this matter is still a bit ridiculous."

Many people laughed out loud. What he said made sense, but it was still quite humorous coming from Chen Pingsheng.

The main reason is that he has the world's top high-IQ team.

He added that relying solely on these individuals to design welfare programs for the grassroots industries is far less effective than bringing in the grassroots workers themselves.

For example, when designing benefits for the food delivery industry, asking experts is not as reliable as actually asking those delivery drivers who have been working for several years.

This is what it means to be down-to-earth; whatever you do, it's best to be down-to-earth.

The lives of Chen's descendants have become increasingly detached from reality, which is why bored star-struck fans like Chen Wuyou have emerged.

There are also unreliable people like Chen Youcai.

Subsequently, many reporters asked about related topics.

Starting in May, the Economic Research Island will send at least a hundred grassroots workers from various industries to the island every month to discuss industry development directions, including product design and other issues.

As for the changes in the senior management of the Economic Research Island, Zhang Wanyi's ten-year term has come to an end, and the selection of the next dean should still be done through open and fair voting.

Whether An'an can take over is still a huge question. But regardless of whether she takes the position of dean or not, as long as Chen Pingsheng is around, no one can surpass his influence.

His words are still the most important.

Therefore, he will persevere for another twenty years to ensure that the Economic Research Island can continue to develop for another hundred years.

As long as Economic Research Island exists, the Chen family's influence will not actually disappear.

On the contrary, it will only grow bigger and bigger. Conversely, once Jingyan Island is gone, the Chen family will still have so much money, and that is the real danger.

Not only is there a risk of losing their property, but the Chen family members also face a great danger to their lives.

The current Chen Pingsheng is far beyond what ordinary people can imagine.

His far-sightedness has long since transcended the past ten or twenty years.

Why did Du Yuesheng tear up all the IOUs in the house when he left?

If they don't tear up those IOUs, the descendants of the Du family will go to those rich and powerful people to demand money.

Guess what the result will be?
When Chen Pingsheng does things, he never just satisfies one or two reasons.

He must be thinking from multiple perspectives.

His decision to donate all his family's money after his passing sends a very positive signal to the outside world.

All of their family's money is to be returned to society.

Only in this way can we go further safely and steadily.
Human nature is complex, and Chen Pingsheng only revealed some of the surface reasons.

It doesn't involve deep family inheritance.

He was definitely right about one thing: the future of the Chen family in Shanghai is no longer a concern. No matter how many descendants they have, they will only live the carefree life of the wealthy.

The remaining time of the cocktail party was naturally spent in private gatherings.

Those who can form a small circle of drinkers with Chen Pingsheng are all among the richest people in the country.

Or perhaps a well-known entrepreneur who is number one in the industry.

No matter which circle he's in, he's undoubtedly the top figure.

This is inseparable from his low-key approach over the decades.

It can be said that Chen Pingsheng is the one who dislikes exaggeration the most, and he also dislikes the kind of person who fools his friends in the circle.

Some people are really annoying; when their own investments suffer huge losses, they try every means to get their friends to foot the bill.

If this happens, they will all reject it.

It is said that Tong Zhelan and Shen Nanpeng have made a fortune overseas in recent years and are considering returning to live in China.

To be honest, after living to his seventies, Chen Pingsheng had very few true friends left.

Those who were going to leave have basically all left, including his wife who had always been by his side!

(End of this chapter)