The new Chinese billionaire owner of this hyper-elite golf club wants to charge members £100,000
Chinese firm Reignwood bought Wentworth for about £135 million ($208 million) last year, and has now told members at the prestigious club to give them £100,000 ($154,000) or face being kicked out of the club, according to the Financial Times.
The decision was announced at the club's annual meeting, an event that Reignwood's billionaire boss Chanchai Ruayrungruang missed because of his involvement in Xi Jinping's big visit to the UK. Ruayrungruang , known in China as Yan Bin has a net worth in excess of £6.6 billion ($10.2 billion), and was recently named as one of China's ten richest men.
Payment of the £100,000 that Wentworth's owners are demanding will give members debenture share in the club, and while people are not being forced to pay the fee, many members may not be able to afford it. Especially considering it goes along with a huge £16,000 ($25,000) annual membership fee. This would more than double the current fee of between £7,000-8,000 ($11,000-12,000) per year
Members are understandably pretty annoyed, with one telling the FT "They are potentially selling a dud instrument that has zero payback, zero equity," Another, James Wyatt said that the major changes being made to the club's membership structure are "worse than anyone could have imagined."
TV chat show host Sir Michael Parkinson, a member of the club told the Sunday Times "It's a cull and it saddens and angers me to see an iconic golf club treated in this way,"
New members joining the club will have to pay even more, handing over £125,000 ($193,000). Wentworth wants to bring in 800 new members by invitation only. This has made the already angry members even more annoyed, because of an apparent lack of transparency in the application and admissions process for new members.
This anger prompted the club's captain Michael Fleming to tell the FT that members want"a better understanding of what our new owners want and the future of the club".
Wentworth defended the decision, saying in a statement "All of the improvements will ensure a club of exceptional quality and will set unparalleled standards on and off the course,"
It also said in an email to members that it would invest up to £20 million ($31 million) in the course over the coming years, according to the FT.