The truth behind 185.1 billion: Business mogul Wang Shi's ideals and reality

A person once celebrated as a benchmark for Chinese entrepreneurs suddenly becoming the focus of public attention again at age 75 is itself a story worth pondering. Wang Shi’s name once represented a certain ideal of Chinese business civilization, but now he is surrounded by various evaluations and discussions.

What’s different this time is that the tone seems less respectful.

From Artistic Youth to Practitioner of Business Norms

In 1978, a 27-year-old technician worked at the quarantine and disinfection warehouse at Beigang Station in Shenzhen. At that time, Shenzhen was not the city people know today—dead pigs piled beside the tracks, and the air filled with a foul stench. Wang Shi describes this experience in his autobiography, revealing the genuine feelings of a young man facing a chaotic era.

A year later, the wave of reform and opening up swept in. Wang Shi decided to go into business. He first made his fortune trading chicken feed, then in 1984 founded the predecessor of Vanke—the Modern Scientific and Educational Equipment Exhibition Center. The real turning point came when he proactively shifted the company into real estate and began “doing less,” pursuing specialization.

This was not a simple business decision. In that rough-and-tumble era of commerce, most entrepreneurs pursued diversification and scale maximization. Wang Shi, however, chose the opposite—focusing on core business and proposing the “Middle-Class Good Housing” strategy. More importantly, he pioneered the internal publication “Vanke Weekly”—which did not discuss sales techniques but published economics articles, explored market rules, and emphasized corporate ethics.

In an era full of greed and moral corruption, Wang Shi used the pen name “Fansheng” to propose “profits above 25% are not pursued,” and led by example with commitments like “no bribery,” “no land hoarding,” and “no land king acquisitions.” These later became red lines within Vanke. His peers found these commitments puzzling, even questioning, “Are you lying?”

He was not. This is the story of a literary youth building a world-class real estate company, and also an attempt by an individual to elevate the civilization of the business world.

The Willing Sacrifice of a Billion-Yuan Fortune

If the previous story was about Wang Shi’s personal cultivation, then the 1988 decision on share reform was truly what set him apart.

At that time, countless entrepreneurs amassed wealth through management buyouts, but Wang Shi made a nearly rebellious choice—he voluntarily relinquished all 40% of his shares and his controlling stake, introducing a professional management system into Vanke, transforming it into a truly “no boss” company.

How costly was this decision? When Vanke’s market value peaked at 450 billion yuan, even with a 20% stake, Wang Shi’s net worth was close to 100 billion yuan. He gave up not just wealth but absolute control over the company.

In an era when entrepreneurs thrived on equity and power, Wang Shi’s choice was considered “breaking the rules of heaven and earth.” Yet he never regretted it. Earning only a salary, he never appeared on any rich list. In December 2019, Wang Shi revealed in an interview with Sina Finance that after retirement, he received an annual pension of 10 million yuan. By 2024, out of consideration for Vanke’s situation, he voluntarily gave up this income.

What kind of restraint is this? What kind of clarity?

The Turning Point of 185.1 Billion Yuan

But the problem is, the management system Wang Shi designed—though disciplined, restrained, and full of ideals—is not perfect.

In 2015, due to governance issues at Vanke, the “Vanke-Maibao Dispute” erupted, entering the history of China’s capital markets. Insurance company Baoneng, leveraging lax regulatory attitudes at the time, once acquired nearly 25% of Vanke’s shares. Wang Shi, who had returned from study tours, sought help everywhere, and only with the intervention of China Resources and Shenzhen Metro was the crisis resolved.

After this hard-fought battle, Wang Shi chose to step back completely, handing over Vanke’s reins to his chosen successor, Yu Liang.

However, what happened next was completely beyond everyone’s expectations.

Yu Liang and his management team abandoned the pride of Vanke—those commitments to discipline, restraint, and “not chasing land kings.” In 2021, Vanke, which once declared it would not chase land kings, spent 185.1 billion yuan on land acquisitions in a single year. What does this number mean? It signifies radicalism, gambling, and a total departure from Wang Shi’s entire business philosophy.

This expenditure of 185.1 billion yuan marked a clear watershed, illustrating Vanke’s transformation after losing Wang Shi’s restraint. The result? The costs of this radical approach quickly manifested. By 2024, Vanke suffered a nearly 50 billion yuan loss, and in the first three quarters of 2025, it still posted a loss of 28 billion yuan.

Wang Shi, who lost control, could only express concern on social media. How ironic is that?

The Gap After Retirement and the Disappearance of Respect

After leaving Vanke, Wang Shi did not completely retreat from public life. In 2017, he founded Deep Stone Group, embarking on a second entrepreneurial journey. On the former site of Vanke’s headquarters at Damaisha, he assembled projects like green carbon-neutral communities, sports, and green capital, personally transforming a near-zero emission demonstration zone “Biosphere 3,” establishing a rowing club, and engaging in rock climbing and skiing.

These projects are full of ideals, but the market’s willingness to pay for ideals seems far less than for profits.

In 2018, he founded DeepDive sports company; in 2021, he set up an environmental M&A-themed SPAC aiming to list in Hong Kong, but it ultimately failed; later, he invested in Sun Green Technology, focusing on solar power services; and he collaborated with old friend Feng Lun on the “Canal Private Board” to teach business philosophy.

In recent years, Wang Shi has indeed endorsed several brands—China Mobile, Ping An Insurance, 8848 Mobile Phones, Jeep Grand Cherokee, and even the “Chief Executive Bird’s Nest” launched jointly with Yanzhiwu in early 2025. These actions have led some to describe him as a “endorsement fanatic” or “late-life tinkerer.”

Ironically, a man who once gave up a trillion-yuan fortune to uphold his business ideals now relies on endorsements to sustain his life and career expenses. Having lost Vanke’s power and the stable business foundation it provided, every step has become more difficult.

Public opinion has shifted subtly. The praise for his earlier decisions has gradually faded. His heroic act of relinquishing equity is now forgotten by the market and public discourse. Instead, there are jokes, sarcasm, and even malicious comments. A once-respected entrepreneur now seems to have become a target of mockery.

The Cost of Business Civilization

Wang Shi once explained his understanding of modern enterprise in his autobiography: “In market competition, one should do simple rather than complex, transparent rather than closed, disciplined rather than scheming, and pursue fair returns rather than excessive profits.”

Under his leadership, Vanke maintained long-term restraint and rationality. During an era when private real estate firms wildly leveraged and raced ahead, Wang Shi might not have been widely understood, but he was respected. He was not just a real estate developer but also a messenger trying to build a complete set of business philosophies and civilization. This is very different from some successful or reclusive business giants today.

Retired, Wang Shi faced enormous criticism. All of this stems from his early choices—abandoning personal equity, refusing MBOs, and thus losing wealth and power entirely. It’s a stark irony: because he pursued business ideals rather than maximizing personal gain, he found himself voiceless and unprotected when he fell from grace.

And that 185.1 billion yuan figure is the deepest tragedy of this story—it marks the turning point when a person’s ideals were betrayed by his most trusted successor.

Wang Shi and the original Vanke played a significant role in promoting the standardization of Chinese corporate governance and cleansing the chaotic real estate ecosystem of that time. These positive contributions cannot be erased, especially in an era that urgently needs entrepreneurs to restore social spirit. A true entrepreneur who once dared to give up enormous personal benefits should be accorded more respect in his later years, not reduced to a figure of ridicule or a straw man filling the void of public entertainment.

Perhaps, this is the real question we should be contemplating.