71-year-old Wang Jianlin has suddenly been restricted from high consumption, yet netizens are full of praise - what's really happening?
According to media reports, Dalian Wanda Group Co., Ltd. and its legal representative Wang Jianlin have recently been restricted from high consumption. Typically when wealthy individuals face consumption restrictions, there's widespread criticism, but Wang Jianlin's case is different. Netizens are praising Wang Jianlin for taking responsibility and being accountable, calling him a true man worthy of respect. Some even suggest he shouldn't face restrictions and should be given leniency.
This contrasting reaction stems from people's belief that Wang Jianlin hasn't engaged in asset transfers or evaded responsibilities, but has been consistently working to repay debts. Indeed, compared to individuals like Xu Jiayin, Wang Jianlin is significantly better.
However, some are curious about exactly how much Wanda owes and why it seems to be constantly selling assets to repay debts.
In fact, Wang Jianlin's glory days ended in 2017. That year, Wanda suddenly faced a debt crisis. The general situation was that Wanda borrowed heavily from domestic banks and other institutions, then used the funds for aggressive overseas acquisitions. Later, lending was cut off and repayment was demanded.
Wang Jianlin had no choice but to make painful sacrifices, selling cultural tourism, hotel, and many other assets to survive the first debt crisis.
But this was just the beginning. Wang believed that Wanda Commercial, listed in Hong Kong, was severely undervalued, so he wanted to delist and pivot to A-shares. He brought in capital partners including Ping An Insurance, who invested 30 billion yuan to privatize Wanda Commercial. They also signed a gambling agreement requiring A-share listing within two years, or repay principal plus interest.
The A-share IPO attempt failed, and Wanda was burdened with over 30 billion yuan in additional debt. This led to bringing in Tencent, JD.com, Suning, and Sunac, who invested 34 billion yuan in Wanda Commercial Management, resolving the second debt crisis.
Unable to access A-shares, they decided to return to Hong Kong stocks. In 2021, Wang Jianlin packaged Wanda Commercial Management's light-asset business to establish Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management for a Hong Kong IPO attempt. Again, gambling agreements were signed with investors including TPG and Tencent, requiring completion of listing by 2023 or payment of 30 billion yuan in buyback fees.
Unexpectedly, four consecutive attempts to list on the Hong Kong Exchange ended in failure. With 30 billion yuan to repay, Wang Jianlin was overwhelmed and forced to relinquish control of Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management. TPG and consortium investors paid 60 billion yuan for a 60% stake, leaving Wang Jianlin with only 40%, resolving the third debt crisis.
After multiple failed gambling agreements for public listings, Wang Jianlin stopped pursuing listings. Theoretically, Wanda could focus on operations, but given the challenging environment in recent years, Wanda's situation hasn't been smooth, with revenue and cash flow unable to cover short-term debts.
As of the end of September 2024, Wanda Commercial Management had approximately 40.084 billion yuan in liabilities due within one year, with long-term borrowings reaching 106.46 billion yuan. Wang Jianlin could only continue selling assets - Wanda Cinema was sold, Wanda Culture was sold, and WANDA HOTEL DEV is also being prepared for sale. In 2024, 30 Wanda Plazas were sold, and 55 more have been sold so far this year, totaling 85 Wanda Plazas sold.
While selling assets to repay debts on one side, he's being stabbed by former "white knights" on the other. Partners like Sunac and Suning are demanding Wanda repurchase shares, involving 18 billion yuan, and have applied to courts to freeze Wanda's equity.
Currently, Wanda Group faces 14.293 billion yuan in enforcement actions and has 57 equity freeze orders. Just since September this year, 14.533 billion yuan in equity has been frozen.
Therefore, Wang Jianlin, who has been repaying debts for years, continues to face troubles. The three-time China's richest man has seen his wealth significantly shrink, ranking 51st on the 2025 New Fortune 500 Rich List with assets worth 58.8 billion yuan.
However, there's no need to worry about Wang Sicong. Wang Jianlin still has 140 Wanda Plazas that can be liquidized - even at 1 billion yuan each, that's 140 billion yuan. Additionally, remember Lu Yu's interview with Wang Jianlin? His home contains extensive collections of famous paintings and antiques, worth at least several hundred million yuan.
But as many netizens say, Wang Jianlin hasn't created unfinished buildings, hasn't transferred assets, hasn't dumped massive debts on society, and has been consistently working to repay debts - that deserves praise.