--- description: A posh dinner for some of New York City’s homeless was overshadowed by an unmet promise to distribute $300 to each of the dinners. title: Who is Chen Guangbiao? China Philanthropist Tries to Feed NYC Homeless image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5df8b5594258c48b/69869955169ab007c327a13d/chinese-tycoon-homele_raym.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [poverty](/tag/poverty/) ## poverty Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Meet the Chinese Philanthropist Who Just Disappointed a Lot of New Yorkers  by [Noah Rayman](/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 26, 2014 2:03 PM CUT  Recycling magnate Chen Guangbiao sings to the media and his guests from the New York City Rescue Mission at The Loeb Boathouse restaurant in New York, Wednesday, June 25, 2014\. The Chinese tycoon known for his sometimes eccentric gestures served up a fancy lunch Wednesday to hundreds of homeless New Yorkers at a Central Park restaurant and serenaded them with "We are the World." Chen said he wants to disprove the cliche image of rich Chinese spending money mostly on luxuries. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) Recycling magnate Chen Guangbiao sings to the media and his guests from the New York City Rescue Mission at The Loeb Boathouse restaurant in New York, Wednesday, June 25, 2014\. The Chinese tycoon known for his sometimes eccentric gestures served up a fancy lunch Wednesday to hundreds of homeless New Yorkers at a Central Park restaurant and serenaded them with "We are the World." Chen said he wants to disprove the cliche image of rich Chinese spending money mostly on luxuries. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)Seth Wenig—ASSOCIATED PRESS  by [Noah Rayman](/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 26, 2014 2:03 PM CUT Chinese philanthropist Chen Guangbiao’s much-hyped posh luncheon for some of New York City’s homeless [was overshadowed by an unmet promise](http://time.com/2925446/chinese-tycoons-nyc-lunch-for-homeless-becomes-a-chase-for-cash/?utm%5Fsource=feedburner&utm%5Fmedium=feed&utm%5Fcampaign=Feed:%20time/topstories%20%28TIME:%20Top%20Stories%29 "undefined") to distribute $300 to each of the diners. But Chen appeared unfazed, [telling the New York _Times_](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/26/nyregion/300-gifts-to-homeless-by-magnate-are-canceled.html?%5Fr=0 "undefined") that he’s taking his philanthropy to Africa next. The self-made recycling tycoon worth an estimated $740 million has already become something of a household name in China, where he’s used his money—and his theatrics—to grab headlines and push his causes. Chen, who grew up in a poor rural household and says two of his siblings died of hunger, has cultivated a reputation for the eccentric, and he’s far from bashful about his exploits: His business card reads “Most Influential Person of China.” He’s known for handing out cash to unsuspecting passersby, an antic he brought to the streets of New York City ahead of the luncheon. He’s also used his theatrics to raise awareness about issues like pollution in China’s cities. Last year [he distributed cans of fresh air](http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/02/01/chinese-millionaire-fights-pollution-with-fresh-air-in-a-can/ "undefined") with a variety of flavors—there were the options of “pristine Tibet” and “post-industrial Taiwan,” among others. That followed his public smashing of his old, gas-guzzling Mercedes and his handout of thousands of bikes. In a call for China’s wealth to join him in his philanthropy, Chen constructed a wall of cash for a photo-op. He’s also played in geopolitics. In 2012, he took out an ad in the New York _Times_ declaring that the disputed Diaoyu Islands are Chinese and not Japanese territory. And then a year later, he announced that [he planned to buy the New York _Times_](http://business.time.com/2013/12/31/china-tycoon-wants-to-buy-new-york-times/ "undefined"), even as the owner said it wasn’t for sale. If not the _Times_, Chen said at the time, then he’d try for CNN or the _Wall Street Journal_. “As long as they have some influence, I’m still willing to consider buying lesser media outlets,” he said at the time. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2927060/chen-guangbiao-china/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2927060/chen-guangbiao-china/"},"headline":"Meet the Chinese Philanthropist Who Just Disappointed a Lot of New Yorkers","datePublished":"2014-06-26T14:03:23.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T08:38:42.692Z","description":"Philanthropist or attention hog?","url":"https://time.com/2927060/chen-guangbiao-china/","keywords":["poverty","China","Bizarre","New York City","philanthropy"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5df8b5594258c48b/69869955169ab007c327a13d/chinese-tycoon-homele_raym.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Noah Rayman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/noah-rayman/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5df8b5594258c48b/69869955169ab007c327a13d/chinese-tycoon-homele_raym.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Chen Guangbiao","caption":"Chen Guangbiao","creditText":"Seth Wenig—ASSOCIATED PRESS","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/poverty/","name":"poverty"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2927060/chen-guangbiao-china/","name":"Meet the Chinese Philanthropist Who Just Disappointed a Lot of New Yorkers"}}]}] ```