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Chinese Zillionaire Has Trouble Giving Cash Away To New Yorkers
By
Ben Yakas
Published Jun 25, 2014
Modified Jun 25, 2014
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Jun 25, 2014
Modified Jun 25, 2014
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Kazillionaire Chen Guangbiao, who previously announced his far-fetched intentions to buy the NY Times, took out an ad in the New York Times last week promising lunch and $300 for "1,000 poor and destitute Americans" at the Loeb Boathouse restaurant in Central Park. To get the ball rolling on his plan, Guangbiao toured the neighborhood around Tribeca’s New York City Rescue Mission on Tuesday, handing out $100 bills to random NYers. The only problem: NYers didn't want it.
Or at least one NYer, according to the Post, really didn't want it: "Like any New Yorker approached by a clueless smiling tourist, the man just put his head down and kept walking." It's unclear if other NYers also rejected his money, because Guangbiao seemingly only invited the Post on his charm offensive. There's no mention of anyone accepting the cash except for one busker.
Oh, and he did sing "We Are The World" with one homeless person. He has a thing for that song, apparently.
"The important thing to me is not the money I’m donating, but to have people take notice of the plight of poor people,” Chen told them through a translator. "This, for me, is a journey of gratitude, not a journey of charity." If that is really true, then Guangbiao should reconsider his homeless cash plan: the rescue mission doesn’t think he should hand out cash because many of the homeless diners have drug problems.
And if you're interested to learn more about Guangbiao, a recycling tycoon worth around $740 million according to Forbes, CNN has a big profile of him today.
Tagged
central park
charity in 2014
china
rich people
zillionaires
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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