A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

In March 1975, with the approval of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Amgen launched a new drug on the market. Its full name is sildenafil citrate tablets, abbreviated as sildenafil, and its brand name is "Viagra".

This gem-shaped blue pill generated 1.5 prescriptions per day in its first week on the market. Patients in major American hospitals were actively asking their doctors to prescribe sildenafil, their eyes filled with hope.

A hospital in New York.

“Dr. Pete, you know how many years I’ve waited. I can’t wait to have it. I never want to suffer my wife’s contempt again!”

Dr. Pete looked at the patient who had been seeking his help for years, smiled as he prepared to write a prescription, and said, "I'm sorry, Jack, I didn't recommend you as a candidate last time. You know, there were just too many people who applied, some of whom had more serious conditions than you, some even with a 20-year-old illness."

"I know, I know, it's not too late to have it now!"

By the seventh week, the United States was issuing as many as 27 Viagra prescriptions per day, creating a miracle in the history of world medicine.

At this time, the United States was experiencing a wave of divorces.
The New York Times published a commentary stating that the emergence of Viagra may alleviate this wave of divorces.

The Washington Post published a commentary stating that Viagra is a medical miracle and a boon to men. Dr. Tang Wensheng, who invented Viagra, is the son of Tang Feifan, one of the inventors of penicillin. This father and son have made enormous contributions to human health.

Pfizer Inc.

President John Anderson, looking at the news in the newspaper, remarked, "A new biopharmaceutical giant has emerged."

The subordinate retorted, unconvinced, "Amgen only has one prescription drug; how can it be considered a giant?"

John Anderson shook his head and said:
"Looking at Amgen Biopharmaceuticals' R&D personnel, they have gathered many top scientists in the industry, many of whom are admirers of Dr. Tang Feifan. Of course, there are also Amgen Biopharmaceuticals' wealthy investors. It is said that they have spent 1 million US dollars on R&D for this purpose."

"Not only that, Viagra's current sales figures indicate that this year's sales will exceed 2 million US dollars!"

The subordinate exclaimed incredulously, "Two hundred million US dollars?"

John Anderson nodded and said, "That's just a conservative estimate."

It wasn't just Pfizer that saw the huge profits involved; other American pharmaceutical companies were also envious and jealous. However, faced with strong patent laws, they naturally wouldn't copy the products, and copying them wouldn't be cost-effective.

at the same time.

Amgen Biopharmaceuticals is holding a celebration party, and CEO Chen Leyi is giving a speech.

“We succeeded.”

The simple five-word opening drew applause from more than a hundred pharmaceutical and chemical engineers present.

Then, Chen Leyi added, "The success of Viagra will bring Amgen Biopharmaceuticals a continuous stream of huge profits. Of course, you might think that since investors have invested huge sums of money and supported us for more than eight years, shouldn't we share in the profits next?"

The researchers on site immediately took notice.

Of course, some research engineers also loudly proclaimed: "Investors have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in research and development over a period of eight years, so sharing the profits is perfectly justifiable."

Many research engineers nodded in agreement.

Chen Leyi smiled and nodded, saying, "Thank you for your understanding! But I want to tell you that the investors have decided not to take a single penny of the profits for at least three years; because we want to use the profits to reinvest in new challenges and make a greater contribution to human health."

The audience erupted in applause, which was truly unexpected for everyone.

Chen Leyi continued her speech: "In fact, our management team's opinion is to strive for Amgen Biopharmaceuticals to go public within three years and achieve long-term healthy development of biopharmaceuticals. Those who have contributed to Viagra will receive stock options as a bonus; of course, you can also choose the current cash reward. The choice is yours, but I need to say that in just seven weeks, Viagra's daily prescriptions increased from 1.5 to 27, and the total sales for this year are expected to reach approximately US$3 million. Therefore, the stock options of such a company preparing for an IPO are worth more than the current cash."

Everyone present looked happy; they already knew how to choose!
In fact, over the past eight years, Amgen's salaries have been considered above average in the industry, which is a very good situation for a new pharmaceutical company; moreover, no one who has joined the team has ever left.

In this situation, even a small bonus would be acceptable; after all, investors have already invested so much money, and pursuing high returns is perfectly reasonable.

But today they learned just how generous Amgen's investors are: first, for the company's long-term development, they have temporarily decided not to distribute dividends; second, they have also given everyone stock options as a reward.

"Okay, the company will send you a contract for stock options and cash rewards shortly. After consulting with your lawyer, sign your name and submit it to the company."

There was thunderous applause.

Following this, Chief Engineer Tang Wensheng delivered a speech, stating that part of the R&D team would continue to upgrade and develop Viagra, while another part would continue to develop failed prescription drugs for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.

As for new R&D projects, we will naturally have to wait a while before considering investment.

Everyone agreed with the arrangement, and the meeting adjourned shortly afterward.

In May, a massive "deal of the century" took place in New York: Amazon purchased eight skyscrapers in Manhattan, an area eight times the size of the Empire State Building.

As for the transaction price, the media did not find out the specific figure, but it was an astronomical sum.

For a time, American newspapers once again focused on the 'Amazon Group', calling it 'the world's largest commercial real estate group', which owns Amazon shopping malls, Ritz-Carlton hotels, Sheraton hotels, and eight skyscrapers in Manhattan.

Amazon has become a household name, but the media can't find much information about its founder, Allen. They only know that he is of Chinese descent, and nothing else.

Of course, this was because Chen Wenjin had always maintained a very low profile in front of the media, and Amazon was also managed using a 'professional manager' model; he was merely manipulating things from behind the scenes. This was in Manhattan at that time.

In an office building, Chen Wenjin met with his mother and younger brother, Chen Wenhua.

This purchase of the Manhattan office building, totaling $15.87 billion, was made after he obtained his father's permission. The seller was a combination of a pension fund and an investment firm.

Such a large sum of money, exceeding Amazon's assets by 70-80%, was too much for Chen Wenjin to handle alone; therefore, his mother Jiang Meiying's investment company also held a 50% stake.

The two companies contributed $3 million in cash flow, and the rest was acquired through bank loans.

The total assets of the second family are already around 2 billion US dollars. In particular, this time they bought at the bottom, investing about 700 to 800 million US dollars in the US stock market. It will be easy for the value to double (in fact, by 1976, the US stock market had returned to 1,000 points, and the undervalued value had increased by 70% to 80%).

Not to mention, Amazon has stable revenue, Amgen Biopharmaceuticals is a listed company with a market value of at least one billion US dollars, United Madison has assets worth hundreds of millions of US dollars, and Jiang Meiying's personal investment companies are already close to one billion US dollars. With the strength of the second wife, she can take over these eight skyscrapers without any worries.

Moreover, the real estate market is currently in a downturn. Once rents rise later, the value of the eight skyscrapers will increase significantly, so there is no need to use any other funds.

"Mom, the formalities are all done, and everything is going smoothly!"

Jiang Meiying looked at the contract, and she was still a little excited. After all, this was the first time she had seen such a huge investment. Even the first wife's global shipping company only spent a few hundred million US dollars on shipbuilding back then, while the second wife's family swallowed up assets worth 15.87 billion US dollars in one go.

"Okay, this joint venture management company is now entirely in your hands. Your task is to manage the eight skyscrapers and then use the rental income to pay off the debts."

Chen Wenjin said, "The current rent is only enough to cover the bank interest, with a slight surplus. To truly repay the principal, we'll have to wait for the US inflation problem to be resolved and the rent to increase. However, Father is right; we bought in at the bottom, so we're already in a winning position."

Hearing her son's last words, Jiang Meiying was immediately relieved. As long as her man was there, there was no way this investment would have any problems.

At this moment, Chen Wenhua, who was helping to manage the investment, laughed and said, "Don't worry about it for now! Don't forget, my sister's Amgen Biopharmaceuticals is experiencing a surge in Viagra sales. If it goes public in the future, it will bring you enormous wealth."

Jiang Meiying laughed and scolded, "What do you mean your eldest sister's company? That's your eldest sister's husband's company!"

That being said, when the shareholding agreement was initially signed, Tang Wensheng registered all the shares under Chen Leyi's name to show respect for his wife. Of course, since they were already married, this was just a formality; in reality, if they were to divorce, each of them would still receive 25% of the shares.

Chen Wenhua said, "Slip of the tongue, slip of the tongue."

Just as Amazon's "real estate deal of the century" was shaking up the New York business community, another "fashion trend" from Hong Kong quietly landed in the United States - Midea Group's Walkman officially launched sales in the US market in mid-May.

This product, which was originally scheduled to be released globally on April 25, was forced to postpone its launch due to unexpectedly high demand in Hong Kong.

Because Walkmans were so popular in Hong Kong, Midea Group predicted that they would also be popular in the global market. Therefore, Midea Group had to adjust its production capacity and shift more production lines to Walkmans in order to accumulate enough inventory to meet global market demand.

"American consumers are highly receptive to new consumer electronics products, and we absolutely cannot allow shortages to affect our reputation," Huang Zhiming, head of Midea Electronics, emphasized at a meeting before his trip to the United States. This also delayed the launch of the product in the US market by nearly three weeks.

After entering the United States, Midea Group adopted the "street promotion" strategy used in the Hong Kong market: in core cities such as New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, hundreds of local promoters were recruited, and they were asked to wear headphones and carry Midea portable music players on their waists, shuttling through bustling streets and bus carriages.

The promoters would also proactively offer passersby the opportunity to try out the music, handing them portable music players pre-loaded with American pop and jazz. When passersby put on the headphones, they were instantly attracted by the clear and smooth sound quality, and many people inquired about purchasing channels on the spot.

On Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, New York, a young woman exclaimed with delight after trying it out, "This is so much more convenient than a radio! I can listen to it while walking or on the bus, and it won't bother anyone!"
On a bus in Los Angeles, several high school students surrounded the promoters, curiously studying the operation of the Walkman and discussing whether they could record their favorite songs. This "immersive experience" promotional method was far more infectious than traditional advertising, and within just one week, Midea's Walkman spread among young people in major cities.

What surprised Midea Group even more was that many American media outlets took the initiative to pay attention to this "new street trend".

The Los Angeles Times published a report in its lifestyle section titled "A Music Companion from Hong Kong: Midea's Walkman Wins Over Young People," which stated: "This small, blue device is changing the way Americans listen to music—it has no radio noise, and it doesn't need to be fixed indoors like a record player; it only requires one battery to keep music 'on the go.'"

In its first week on the market, Midea's Walkman sold over 4000 units in the United States. Major retailers such as Macy's in New York and Los Angeles placed additional orders, and some distributors even offered to become "exclusive regional agents."

From a "fashionable item" on the streets of Hong Kong to a "bestselling electronic product" in the US market, Midea's Walkman, with its "belated listing," has proven its product appeal across regions and cultures, and has also laid a crucial foundation for Midea Group's global consumer electronics strategy.

The global success of Midea's portable music player has made Sony and Philips, two long-established electronics giants, uneasy. Seeing Midea, which started in Hong Kong, sweep the European and American markets with a "portable music device," the two companies, besides being envious, quickly launched a catch-up plan. However, this time, they had to face an unprecedented situation: to develop similar products, they had to pay patent fees to the Midea Group first.

Looking back a few years, when Midea Group started in the electronics field, it had to bow down to Sony and Philips many times due to technical patents—especially the patent fees for cassette tape recorders. Midea had to pay high patent licensing fees in order to legally produce them, which repeatedly limited Midea's cost control.

Now, the tables have turned. Midea's portable music player has built a strong technological barrier with its core patents such as "portable playback structure" and "headphone adapter interface," forcing Sony and Philips, who wanted to enter the market, to take the initiative to negotiate licensing agreements.

Inside Sony's Tokyo R&D center, engineers repeatedly studied a disassembled Midea Walkman, but they were still unable to get around the core patents.

"If we forcibly imitate it, we will not only face huge compensation if we are sued, but it will also affect the brand's reputation." In the end, Sony had no choice but to send a delegation to Hong Kong to sign a patent licensing agreement with Midea Group.

Philips is in a similar situation. Its Dutch headquarters originally planned to leverage its advantages in audio technology to quickly launch a "competitive product," but Midea's patents are something it absolutely cannot circumvent.

Just like the game console patents of Mirova back then, in recent years they have simply stopped selling console games and instead focused on litigation to obtain patent fees and compensation.

After weighing the pros and cons, Philips also chose to reach a licensing agreement with Midea, with patent fees similar to those of Sony.

It is worth mentioning that even if patent fees are paid, similar products from Sony and Philips may not be able to shake Midea's market position in the portable music player market—Midea has obvious advantages, mainly in price, and secondly in its first-mover advantage.

This "reversal of patent fees" not only allowed Midea Group to firmly establish itself in the consumer electronics sector, but also marked the transformation of Hong Kong technology companies from "technology followers" to "product innovators." (End of Chapter)