Chinese Entertainment Intelligence King

Chapter 306 That Year, at Twenty-Seven, with a Net Worth of 20 Billion+
On January 20, the 2007 Forbes China Rich List was released.

Ms. Yang, the new head of Country Garden, topped the list of richest people in China with RMB 1211 billion, becoming the first female richest person in the country.

It's worth mentioning that this person is a post-80s generation, one year younger than Yan Li.

However, her status as the successor to her father has dimmed her aura considerably, and everyone knows who the real head of Country Garden is.

In this respect, he is not as good as that Mr. Li from Shanxi Province. No matter what, his father passed away, and he is the real person in charge of the group, with all his assets in his hands.

As in the previous year, the real estate industry still maintains a strong advantage, with four of the top ten companies being in real estate, and two others having real estate as one of their main businesses.

Another strong sector is home appliance retail, with the bosses of Gome and Suning both making it into the top ten.

The internet mogul is Li, the founder of Baidu, ranked 21st, with a net worth of approximately 175 billion RMB.

Yan Li remains on the list this year. With his film and television and internet businesses, his net worth has roughly doubled from 11.85 billion last year to 20.4 billion RMB, breaking into the 20 billion RMB mark.

Perhaps due to his fame, Yan Li also saw a special introduction about his net worth in Forbes.

Yan Li's "skyrocketing" net worth mainly comes from investments in internet companies such as Tudou.com and Yi'an Film & Television and Yi'an Cinema.

Taking Yi'an Cinema as an example, the actual investment alone exceeds 5 million yuan. Even if the valuation of cinema investment is limited, it still has to be around 6 to 7 million yuan.

Yan Li holds 40% of the shares, which is close to 3 million RMB.

There's also Tudou.com, which is aiming for a $2-3 million Series B funding round, and there's a good chance of that happening. Yan Li's shares are worth approximately 4-5 million RMB.

As an industry giant, even if the film and television industry is asset-light and its valuation is inflated, compared to Huayi Brothers, whose last round of financing valued it at 12 to 15 billion, Yi'an should be worth at least 8 to 10 billion RMB.

All of these add up to nearly 20 billion, not to mention that Yan Li also made a fortune in the stock market.

Adding in his other assets, Yan Li could easily say again that Forbes underestimated him once more.

However, compared to before when he needed to make outrageous statements to gain fame, Yan Li no longer needs to go to such lengths.

Highs and lows, that's about right!

However, compared to the surge in his assets, Yan Li's ranking has actually dropped. Last year he was 258th, and this year he is 272nd, a drop of more than ten places.
This is not surprising. With the economy booming, everyone's wealth is increasing rapidly. This year, the entry threshold has become 15 billion, while last year 8 million was enough to make the list, almost doubling in one year.

Yan Li's asset growth outpaced the Forbes list, while the two brothers from Huayi Brothers were left off the list, making Yan Li the only one in the film and television industry to achieve this.

Compared to last year when Yan Li had to resort to various forms of paid publicity and promotion, this year is much more convenient.

With just a few taps on Weibo, a large number of related reports and posts appear, then explode on Weibo, and are then spread and reposted across the entire internet.

This is the benefit of having a super information platform: you have control over your own channels for publicity and communication.

Besides Yan Li's daily self-promotion to enhance his financial resources and commercial aura, Fan Xiaopang and others have also benefited a lot from Weibo.

The celebrity list, released around the same time as the rich list, featured artists like Fan Xiaopang and Yi An, who shone brightly.

Fan Xiaopang ranked seventh in income last year, but this year he fell one place, with an annual income of 3200 million yuan, ranking eighth.

However, setting aside the three sports stars Yao Ming, Liu Xiang, and Yi Jianlian, let's also include the two pianists Lang Lang and Li Yundi.

There are only three artists who truly surpass Fan Bingbing: Jet Li, Zhang Ziyi, and Gong Li.

It's not that Fan Xiaopang is incompetent; it's just that the other three made a lot of money in US dollars and suffered losses from fighting on home soil.

The above rankings are based on income and media exposure. Fan Bingbing broke into the top three and ranked first among celebrities. The only ones ahead of her are Yao Ming and Liu Xiang, who went on a rampage thanks to the Olympics.

It's hard to say if she's a business queen, but she's definitely the queen of exposure.

Frankly speaking, while Fan Bingbing might be lacking in one aspect to reach this level, in terms of overall qualities such as fame, influence, and earning power, it's hard to say which female star can definitely surpass her.

Fan Xiaopang's team plans to capitalize on this momentum and create a huge buzz, further emphasizing "strength" in addition to maintaining their marketing focus on "beauty".

Forget about winning awards. Whether my acting is good or bad, just look at how much money I make!

Apart from Fan and Zhang, all four actresses and two top performers performed well. Even Xu Cainu, although still at the bottom, was not far behind and maintained her position among the four top actresses and two top performers.

That's why it's good to be associated with others. The other people are so capable, even if you're not, you can still benefit a lot. Just the title alone is worth a lot.

Not to mention Xu Cainu's "talented woman" aura, which is quite popular among some literary and artistic brands.

Among the artists from Yi'an, Fan Xiaopang stands out, while Deng Chao ranks second.

This guy lived up to the title of "number one" that Yi An had given him. With the help of several dramas such as "Sweet Honey" and "Assembly", he broke into the top 50 of the list with an income of 8.2 million.

Among mainland actors, this income is already very high, slightly lower than Liu Huohua's but higher than Tong Dawei's.

Liu Huohua has solid achievements, and Tong Dawei contributed the hit drama "Struggle" this year. Both of them have companies behind them. If it weren't for Yi An's strong support, Deng Chao, who has a relatively shallow background, would definitely not be able to be ranked alongside the two.

Of course, it wasn't just Yi An who helped Deng Chao, but also his girlfriend Sun Li.

These sisters are much better at making money than Deng Chao, earning over 1500 million, almost twice as much as Deng Chao.

Among the young actresses, her performance was second only to the "Four Dan and Two Bing" (a group of four top actresses), and she can be considered to have taken over the position of Chen Hao, the top actress of Orange Sky Entertainment last year.

In addition, there is another crucial point that cannot be ignored: Deng Chao is considered to be among the most handsome of the four top male stars.

Liu Huohua and Tong Dawei are certainly not ugly, and each has their own unique characteristics, but they are not considered handsome men by traditional standards. Huang Xiaoming and Deng Chao, on the other hand, are considered handsome men by the public.

Don't underestimate this point; handsome men who are more in line with public perception have a greater advantage in areas such as popularity, business, and career.

Of the so-called "Four Great Leading Men," only Huang and Deng are truly worthy of being called the top male actor in mainland China, due to both the influence of their respective companies and their personal qualities.

People like Chen Kun and Nie Yuan, who are good-looking and could potentially pose a threat, were actually excluded from the start.

Huang Xiaoming lived up to his title as the top of the four leading men, earning 1200 million yuan, demonstrating the market value of mainland actors in an era dominated by Hong Kong and Taiwan male stars.

Besides Fan and Deng, Qiao Zhenyu and Wang Ou also performed well. The former became very popular with Chu Liuxiang, while the latter steadily built his career with Yi An Erjie, and both earned more than 500 million yuan.

Julian Cheung's performance was actually quite good, even better, but he was excluded because no Hong Kong or Taiwan artists were included this year.

Despite its overall performance, it is still among the top performers, even though it lags behind Huayi Brothers and Orange Sky Entertainment, which have a much larger number of artists.

Of course, there are many people who earn more without making the list, and the data on those who are on the list may not be accurate. The list has some reference value, but it does not represent everything.

For example, Dong Xuan and Qin Lan did not make the list, but their total earnings definitely exceeded the 300 million yuan threshold for making the list.

Now Yan Li no longer gives Qin and Dong money specifically, but instead entrusts them with some small businesses that he can't manage.

This was both to give the two women something to do and to provide them with some income.

For example, in the Yi'an Internet cafe business, Qin Lan was in charge of everything, including collecting payments.

The 12 internet cafes scattered throughout the capital region generate a considerable cash flow each year, even after deducting miscellaneous expenses such as water and electricity, labor, dividends, taxes, and public relations costs.

The majority of the money was given to Yan Li, while a small portion was left for Qin Lan to save and for household expenses.

Dong Xuan is in charge of property management, and Yan Li has accumulated quite a bit of real estate.

Every year, the rent and some speculative buying and selling at low prices bring in several million, if not tens of millions. After deducting some expenses and interest, the rest is all under her control.

Of course, there is a small number of properties that only Yan Li knows about. These are his strongholds, and most of the properties he handed over to Dong Xuan were for investment purposes.

A significant portion of the money for the house purchase came from the internet cafe's revenue. Yan Li pondered that once Dong and Qin's relationship improved, he would have the two of them handle the transactions directly, saving him the trouble of dealing with them in between.

So even though Qin and Dong didn't make the list, they can definitely be called rich women.

Other women, such as Huo Siyan, Jiang Xin, and Yang Rong, did not make the list.

These individuals' apparent income is still somewhat lacking, and Huo and Yang are rather lazy and not proactive in making money.

Huang Shengyi, the junior sister, became very popular with "The Fairy Couple". With the help of some people, she made a lot of money by creating hype and accepting advertisements.

But only she and her business partner know how much of this money she will receive.

Yan Li paid more attention to Huang, not because he wanted to do anything, but because this junior sister had taken the initiative to register a Weibo account without anyone notifying her, and her activity level was even higher than her blog. The Weibo goddess even posted a Weibo to solicit votes.

Regardless of their intentions, as long as it benefits Weibo, Yan Li will give them a good review and turn a blind eye to occasional attempts to ride on his popularity.

In fact, Huang was a thing of the past for Yan Li, and he hadn't paid much attention to him before.

If this is truly upsetting, it's not him, but Huang's current partner...

...

Yan Li didn't put much effort into the Forbes list, and even her ranking among Weibo goddesses was lower.

Since the beginning of the twelfth lunar month, many parts of China have experienced low temperatures and snow, causing transportation difficulties. With the Lunar New Year approaching, this has created the most challenging Spring Festival travel rush.

In this context, Weibo, with its efficient information integration and dissemination, immediately demonstrates its absolute advantage over other internet platforms and traditional media.

After the incident escalated, Yan Li directly established a command center on Weibo, contacting multiple units and locations to aggregate information.

Then, relevant maps were published on Weibo to remind some people returning home to avoid getting into trouble, while also marking some locations for help and the needs for supplies to provide assistance to staff or volunteers.

According to rough estimates, Weibo's real-time nature and connectivity can shorten critical rescue response time by at least 30-50% and reduce duplicate donations and support caused by information asymmetry.

This is still due to the combination of computer and mobile devices, and the relatively small number of Weibo users. If it were a mobile Weibo platform, it would be even more efficient.

This is only the technical rescue; Weibo also contributed a lot in terms of publicity.

For example, real-time updates on the situation can provide a clear understanding of the current circumstances and alleviate panic among those trapped and their families.

At the same time, positive publicity was carried out among staff, volunteers, and relevant personnel to unite people and fight the snowstorm together.

It can be said that Weibo has put in a lot of effort this time, and at the same time gained a significant opportunity.

During this time when the whole nation is focused on ice and snow, Weibo's frontline efforts in snow relief have attracted countless netizens to join the platform, resulting in a surge in Weibo users.

The original target of 100 million users before the Spring Festival has already been exceeded, and now it seems that even 300 million may not be enough.

Especially with the Spring Festival approaching, people are paying more attention to the Spring Festival travel rush. Weibo is more efficient and accurate than traditional media; information spreads rapidly, from one person to ten, from ten to a hundred, and the number of users is unstoppable. Yan Li has already begun preparing servers to accommodate at least tens of millions of users. This is not arrogance, but rather a reflection of the near future.

In 2008, one of Weibo's annual goals was to reach 5000 million users.

This is not an easy goal to achieve. It took Sina Weibo of Future Intelligence more than a year to break through 5000 million followers. Although Yan Li's Weibo has seized the initiative, it has not yet spread to the mobile wireless industry.

According to relevant departments, the total number of internet users in China in 2008 may not exceed 3 million.

With 50 million users, equivalent to one-sixth of all internet users registering on Weibo, Weibo will gain an absolute leading advantage in this Weibo battle.

I don't know what others think, but Yan Li is becoming more and more confident.

Taking advantage of the snowstorm, Weibo not only saw a surge in users but also attracted a large number of official organizations to join the platform, further enhancing its value.

The active support and positive publicity also gave Weibo a lot of exposure. Others may not know, but Yan Li knows that some people have a very high opinion of Weibo.

The gold plating might be an exaggeration, but its benefits to Weibo are definitely not to be underestimated.

For example, Yan Li could use the goodwill he has gained this time to try to cooperate with the official team for some publicity and promotion.

Don't think this is just a job. Many major national events have extremely high traffic. Take the Beijing Olympics for example. It attracted nationwide attention. If Weibo could participate, how could the popularity be small?

Moreover, with more such collaborations, over time, Weibo can establish a positive image and differentiate itself from other Weibo platforms.

Yan Li took this matter very seriously. He not only frequently posted on Weibo, but also attended meetings with various departments. In addition to other miscellaneous tasks, he almost forgot about the Chinese New Year.

Fortunately, he forgot, but Fan Xiaopang didn't.

She meticulously planned her scenes for the Lunar New Year, managing to carve out a ten-day holiday for herself.

While Yan Li was busy overseeing the battle, she was responsible for arranging the Spring Festival. Fearing she wouldn't have time during the Spring Festival travel rush, she chartered a plane.

First, fly to Yan Li's hometown to take Yan Li's parents to Sanya, then return to Beijing to wait for Yan Li to depart.

She couldn't wait; she was afraid Yan Li would forget in his busy schedule, and even more afraid that someone else would snatch him away.

Fortunately, although Yan Li was busy, he kept his promise. After arranging some company matters, he was "escorted" back to Sanya by Fan Xiaopang.

...

Sanya, a resort villa
When Yan Li arrived, Zhang Hong and Comrade Yan were discussing whether or not to put up Spring Festival decorations.

This villa is a vacation home, rented by Yan Li. He was worried that putting up Spring Festival couplets would disturb other people's houses, but without them, he felt something was missing.

"Don't use glue, just use some tape or something to stick it on, that'll make it easier for them to clean up later."

Yan Li rarely gets a break, so he doesn't care about these trivial matters. He makes a suggestion and then lies down on the sofa.

"It would be great if my grandma came."

Fan Xiaopang greeted Comrade Lao Yan and then said, "Zaoshi is still too small and the medical conditions are not good. Why don't we let Grandma live in Beijing? It would be more convenient if she has a headache or fever."

We originally planned to have Grandma Yan come this time, but she wasn't feeling well and we were afraid she would spoil the fun, so she didn't come.

"It's difficult."

Yan Li also had a headache when talking about this. Grandma Yan is over sixty years old this year. She is not old, but her health is not very good, mainly because she suffered when she was young.

Grandpa Yan's life was even more tragic. He came from a poor family, worked in a mine when he was young, and it seems he was even conscripted. He toiled his whole life and never had a full meal in more than a few years. He passed away in his fifties.

So many years have passed, Yan Li's memory of him is now vague.

The old lady is in poor health and not very obedient. She will endure the pain rather than take medicine, and she will take medicine rather than get injections. She is afraid of going to the hospital and thinks it is bad luck.

No amount of persuasion could change her mind, and she wouldn't say anything even when something was wrong. If it weren't for Yan Linian sending someone to take her for a medical check-up every year, and having someone at home and a nanny watching over her, the situation might have been even worse.

Getting the old lady to the capital is out of the question; if Yan Li could have brought her here, he would have arranged it long ago.

The only thing we can do is encourage her to move around more, come to Beijing for a period of time from time to time, arrange for experts to take a look at her, or hire a specialized medical team to regularly go to Zaozhuang for check-ups and care.

Not only is the old lady in poor health, but Comrade Yan is also experiencing problems now.

Although he used to be fat, he worked every day and was young, so he didn't have any major health problems.

Now that the family has money, he's not as motivated anymore and puts in much less effort. He also has a sweet tooth and loves to eat, indulging in all sorts of gluttonous food. And as he gets older, some chronic diseases have started to appear.

Fortunately, the problem isn't serious. Comrade Lao Yan is quite obedient to advice, and Zhang Hong can keep him in check, so there's not much to worry about.

Yan Li had been busy, but this time he made time to have a good talk with his parents.

Everything else is negotiable, but we must pay attention to his health. He works so hard to earn so much money, but his parents can't enjoy it. What's the point of him working so hard?

After chatting for a while, Fan Xiaopang went to change his clothes, and Zhang Hong slipped over to her son's side and nudged him.

"Is this settled?"

"What's settled?"

"They've already chosen a daughter-in-law, otherwise why would they drag her along for the New Year? Son, don't you want Huanhuan and Lanlan anymore?"

Zhang Hong felt a little regretful; she still preferred Dong and Qin, but Yan Lizhen chose Fan Xiaopang, so she could only accept it.

"What are you talking about? Huanhuan and Lanlan are busy, Bingbing is free. Everyone is celebrating the New Year. If you miss them, come back to Beijing with me, and I'll let them spend the Lantern Festival with you."

"Tch, you think you're so great? Why don't you bring all three of them over for the New Year?"

When Zhang Hong heard her son say that the two daughters-in-law she liked better hadn't broken up with her, she breathed a sigh of relief. Then, she got angry when she heard Yan Li's words.

That brat is so smug, he's got two women on his arms, he doesn't even go back to his hometown. Now that he has a wife, he's forgotten his parents.

"If you'd like, I can call you now."

Yan Li took out his phone, but Zhang Hong snatched it away, saying, "Just let us have a peaceful New Year."

Despite her anger, the three daughters-in-law really couldn't take it anymore!

After changing his clothes, Fan Xiaopang came downstairs and naturally took Zhang Hong's hand.

"We're finally reunited, Auntie. How about we go out to eat and try some local specialties?"

Having a rare opportunity to meet privately, Fan Xiaopang wanted to get closer to Zhang Hong.

Zhang Hong was not opposed to this. Although she preferred Dong Qin, she didn't have much of a grudge against Fan Xiaopang. They were both her daughters-in-law, and she didn't want the family to be in disharmony if they could get along peacefully.

It's not easy for a son to work hard away from home. As a mother, I don't expect to help him, but I try my best not to cause him any trouble.

When they went out to eat, driver Wu Maowen arranged for the car to be moved. He hadn't gone home for the Spring Festival either, and he came along with his assistant Ding Feng and a team of bodyguards.

They have designated time for vacation, and they need someone to accompany them when they go out during holidays.

Not only Yan Li's people, but Yang Tianzhen also brought an assistant to Sanya on standby, ready to help Fan Xiaopang solve problems at any time.

Her work ethic and her performance in "Painted Skin" earned her the deep trust of Fan Xiaopang.

On the way to Sanya, Fan Xiaopang discussed with Yan Li that after the Spring Festival, Jia Qian would hand over the position of agent to Yang Tianzhen.

Yan Li is perfectly acceptable. There weren't many artists in Yi'an before, and not many of them were famous, so Jia Qian was needed as a part-time agent.

Now, Yi'an's artist management team has grown to double digits, and many of them are well-known celebrities in the industry with their own teams. Jia Qian can put aside these specific business operations, take a holistic view, and focus all her efforts on developing the entire Yi'an artist management department.

The two cars stopped one after the other at a specialty restaurant in Sanya, where Yan Li and his group got out to eat.

After we finished eating, we got into the car. The bodyguards in the shadows announced that paparazzi were following us.

"How come there are paparazzi?"

Yan Li was a little confused, but Fan Xiaopang was even more bewildered. Very few people knew that she and Yan Li had come to Sanya for the Chinese New Year, and she had personally chosen this restaurant.

If there are paparazzi around, she won't be able to explain herself.

If Yan Liwan misunderstands that she is using the paparazzi photos of her celebrating the New Year with her parents as a pretext to force her out of office, then things will get complicated.

"Take care of it."

Yan Li didn't take it seriously. Since he had already discovered it, he might as well just ask. Even if he couldn't get any answers, he still had the system.

One car continued driving, while the other waited for the paparazzi's car and forced it to stop.

Less than ten minutes after Yan Li and his group returned to the villa, they had figured out what had happened.

They weren't there for them. Sanya is a popular tourist destination and a great place to escape the cold, and many celebrities come here for the Chinese New Year. The paparazzi had only heard that Li Yapeng and his wife Wang Fei were coming, but they didn't expect to run into Yan Li and Fan Xiaopang.

"These are the memory cards we bought."

The bodyguard handed the paparazzi's memory card over. Stealing is illegal, but paying for it is a different matter. In any case, the paparazzi agreed to sell it.

Yan Li took out his computer and flipped through the photos. They weren't very clear, probably because they were a bit far away. He could only make out the general idea.

After looking at the photos, Yan Li blurred his parents' faces, selected a few to save, and planned to contribute more to Weibo traffic during the Spring Festival if it was low.

He didn't care about being discussed by netizens; at most, it would take him a little effort to appease Qin Lan and Dong Xuan.

However, Yan Li's photos were never used.

During the Spring Festival, topics such as ice and snow travel rush, Spring Festival Gala discussions, the Weibo Goddess Top 4 competition, and interesting stories and jokes about the New Year remained highly popular, and Weibo was so lively that he didn't need to worry about it at all.

Even so, the entertainment industry, unwilling to remain quiet, still added fuel to the fire during the Spring Festival.

The photo scandal has erupted, causing a major earthquake in Hong Kong's entertainment circle!

　(3000/149000)

　　
　
(End of this chapter)