The Chinese tech billionaire couple must live ‘pretend to be poor’ to help their son become independent

Businesswoman Peggy Yu met her husband, Li Guoqing – a book publisher – in 1996. They quickly married after dating for three months. And three years later, in 1999, the couple launched Dangdang, the largest online book retailer in China, dubbed the “Chinese Amazon”. According to estimates, this couple’s fortune is worth about $ 1 billion.

Yesterday May 28, sharing on the live broadcast called “You dare to ask, I dare to answer”, Li Guoqing revealed the past full of surprises. As it turned out, when the son was young, the billionaire couple often pretended to be poor to nurture their children to learn to be independent.

However, pretending to be poor is not easy. Li Guoqing said that to “catch the eye” was the smart son, who had to intentionally rent a small house, then every day “send children” to the private driver to shuttle to school. boys are older and can take the bus on their own, they have to hire a babysitter to accompany each ride.

And yet, to inspire his son’s success, he also took his son to see the billionaire’s seaside mansion to stimulate his children to study harder.

Li Guoqing also shared a story he remembers about his children’s filial piety as a child. At that time, on a “hitchhike”, the boy told the driver that the Audi car he was driving had no room to put a cup. The driver teased that he could write a letter about his idea to the chairman of Audi. Li Guoqing’s son then said, “It would be great, if possible, I would ask him $ 500,000. I will buy a house for my parents.”

Peggy Yu and Li Guoqing were warmly together at the time.

However, a few years ago, the couple’s love story met many problems. The 55-year-old businesswoman now takes control of the company and gradually drives her husband out of all working relationships. In early 2019, Mr. Li resigned and announced not to participate in any of Dangdang’s activities.

The son of the couple is known by the intimate name Xander and has very little personal information revealed to the media. But in an interview, Ms. Peggy Yu said her son “refused to learn to use chopsticks and ate breakfast at McDonald’s every day.” At the age of 14, he took part in comedy shows and also had a small business.

“He is very gifted in business, and very independent. We often see each other as a motivation to strive , “ Ms. Yu said proudly.

Refer to NetEase