A 24-year-old who has shared photos of himself partying with Rihanna and Bella Hadid just became Hong Kong's newest billionaire overnight
- Eric Tse became an overnight billionaire on October 22 after receiving a 3.57% stake in Sino Biopharmaceutical Limited, the pharmaceutical maker once headed by his father, as a "gift," the company said in a statement.
- The 24-year-old now has a net worth of $3.8 billion, according to Bloomberg.
- Despite posting Instagram photos of himself partying with Rihanna and Bella Hadid, Tse "will endeavor not to participate" in billionaire rankings, Sino Biopharmaceutical said in a statement.
- The gift comes in the midst of a rocky year for Hong Kong's billionaires.
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A 24-year-old Penn State graduate who has posted photos partying with Rihanna and Bella Hadid became an instant billionaire on October 22 thanks to a generous "gift" from his parents, Sino Biopharmaceutical said in a statement.
Tse now owns 21.45%, or 2.7 billion shares, of Sino Biopharmaceutical, the company said in a statement. The stake is worth $3.8 billion, Bloomberg estimates.
Tse's parents told the company's board that they transferred the shares to Tse in an effort to "refine the management and inheritance of family wealth," Sino Biopharmaceutical said. In a statement, the family said it plans for Tse to "hold the relevant shares in long-term," but said that Tse's new status will "not have any material impact on the business operations of the Company."
The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider on the share transfer.
Tse also took up the position of executive director at the company, which will earn him an additional HK$3.9 million ($498,000) not including any bonuses each year, Sino Biopharmaceutical said. Tse first joined the company as an assistant to the Sino Biopharmaceutical's president in June 2018 after earning a master's degree from Tsinghua University.
Despite his famous friends, Tse has said that doesn't want to be recognized for his wealth.
"Mr. Tse, Eric S Y indicated that in response to nomination for Billionaire List or wealth ranking organized by media or other organizations, he will endeavour not to participate in such rankings in his own name, and would recommend participating in such nominations in the name of the Tse Ping family ..." Sino Biopharmaceutical said in a statement.
The whole family has a net worth of $8.5 billion, Bloomberg estimates. Tse's parents now own 15.62% of Sino Biopharmaceutical, down from 37.07% before the transfer, according to a press release. Tse's father, Tse Ping, is company's former chairman.
The gift comes in the midst of a rocky year for Hong Kong's billionaires.
According to an August report by The Financial Times' Hudson Lockett, a stock market rout thought to have been caused by the protests wiped an estimated $3 billion off the personal net worth of Li Ka-Shing, the billionaire often called "superman," in July and August. The collective net worths of Hong Kong's 10 richest people shrank by approximately $15 billion during that same period, according to Lockett.
And two members of the Kwok family - the richest family in Hong Kong - lost $1 billion a piece in the first 12 weeks of the protests. Billionaires Merlin Swire, Peter Woo, and the Kwok family put out statements condemning the protests though their companies, Business Insider previously reported.