Guo Wengui

Guo Wengui
Born	(1970-05-10) May 10, 1970 Shen County, Shandong, China
Other names	Ho Wan Kwok, Miles Guo, Miles Kwok
Occupation(s)	Businessman, political dissident
Known for	Chinese billionaire businessman, political dissident, whistleblower, founder of media enterprises G News and GTV Media Group

Guo Wengui (; born May 10, 1970—self-reported or October 5, 1968), also referred to as Ho Wan Kwok, Miles Guo, and Miles Kwok, is a Chinese billionaire businessman and political dissident living in exile, who has been convicted of fraud. He exerts control over Beijing Zenith Holdings through intermediaries Li Lin and Jiang Yuehua, among other holdings. At his career height, Guo was ranked as the 73rd wealthiest individual in China. He fled to the United States toward the end of 2014 after Chinese authorities charged him with bribery, kidnapping, money laundering, fraud, and rape—allegations he denies, asserting they are politically motivated actions by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Guo maintains connections with Steve Bannon and holds membership at former U.S. President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.

Guo promotes himself as a whistleblower, though many of his assertions remain unverified by major outlets such as The New York Times. Between 2018 and 2020, alongside Bannon, he initiated media enterprises including G News and GTV Media Group, which disseminated misleading information concerning the COVID-19 pandemic, including unsupported claims about treatments and vaccine conspiracies. In 2021, Guo reached a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission involving $539 million in repayments and penalties related to unlawful fundraising activities. Federal authorities arrested him on fraud charges in March 2023. By July 2024, he was found guilty in New York for defrauding his followers; however, sentencing has been postponed pending upcoming court proceedings.

Biography

Born in Shen County, Shandong, China, Guo was the seventh among eight siblings. He initiated his entrepreneurial endeavors in Zhengzhou before relocating to Beijing, where he secured construction contracts connected to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In 2006, Guo handed over a sex tape involving a Beijing deputy mayor to law enforcement; this official had opposed one of Guo’s land acquisition projects and was subsequently imprisoned, facilitating Guo’s development of Pangu Plaza.

Following the detention of a political ally in 2014, Guo departed China and settled in the United States by 2015. Renowned for real estate development and investment activities, Guo gained wider attention in 2015 after an investigative piece by Caixin exposed his political affiliations, business operations, and confrontational approach toward competitors.

Guo accused Hu Shuli of defamation and responded with personal attacks against her. In early 2017, he launched a Twitter account specifically to criticize Chinese government officials, focusing particularly on He Jintao—the son of former Central Commission for Discipline Inspection chief He Guoqiang.

Several individuals connected to Guo were later implicated during Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign, including Ma Jian, former deputy director of the Chinese Ministry of State Security, and Zhang Yue, former Political and Legal Affairs Secretary of Hebei. Although generally supportive of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s leadership, Guo has characterized aspects of the campaign as politically motivated purges.

Since early 2017, Guo has resided voluntarily in exile within New York City, owning an $82 million Upper East Side residence overlooking Central Park. From this base, he continues advocating a political platform aimed at exposing corruption within China. In November 2018, he placed this apartment on the market with an asking price of $67 million.

Guo holds memberships at former U.S. President Donald Trump’s Florida-based Mar-a-Lago club as well as London's exclusive Mark's Club.

Beginning January 23, 2017, Guo engaged in multiple interviews with media outlets such as Mingjing, Voice of America (VOA), and BBC, launching an extensive campaign accusing Chinese officials of corruption through live monologues broadcast on YouTube and Twitter. One significant VOA interview lasting three hours was unexpectedly cut short. Major publications including The New York Times, Financial Times, and Forbes have covered Guo’s activities extensively. In June 2017, HNA Group filed a defamation lawsuit against him.

In August 2018, reports from Hong Kong media indicated that Hong Kong Police froze assets connected to Guo’s family amid allegations involving HK$32 billion in money laundering linked to his daughter Guo Mei. His mother died in China in March 2019.

Benjamin R. Teitelbaum’s book War for Eternity examines Guo’s partnership with Steve Bannon and their joint efforts to challenge the Chinese government.</ref> On June 3, 2020—the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre—Guo and Bannon announced aboard Guo’s yacht the establishment of a "New Federal State of China", an initiative aimed at toppling the Chinese regime. Aircraft flew banners over New York City promoting this movement. In August 2020, Bannon was apprehended during a raid on Guo’s $35 million yacht related to fraud charges concerning the We Build the Wall nonprofit organization.

In February 2022, Guo filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy, declaring assets estimated between $50,001 and $100,000 while listing liabilities ranging from $100 million to $500 million.</ref>

Beijing Zenith Holdings

In 2013, Beijing Zenith Holdings () was controlled by Li Lin and Jiang Yuehua through two corporate vehicles ( and ). The firm purchased a minority interest in PKU Healthcare from the state-owned PKU Healthcare Group, part of the Founder Group. Nevertheless, Beijing Zenith Holdings reportedly did not fulfill its payment obligations to PKU Healthcare Group after the share transfer and is said to have obtained loans from PKU Resources Group Holdings, a related entity of PKU Healthcare Group, to complete the payment. In 2016, the China Securities Regulatory Commission imposed fines on all three companies involved.

Chinese media sources in 2015 claimed that Guo Wengui was the actual owner of Zenith Holdings, with Li Lin and Jiang Yuehua serving as frontmen.

Additionally, Zenith Holdings secured a minority stake in Founder Securities by subscribing to newly issued shares.

In October 2018, Zenith Holdings faced a CNY 60 billion penalty due to irregularities connected to its acquisition of the securities firm. A Dalian court ruling determined that Beijing Zenith had generated RMB 11.9 billion through unlawful profits.

Chinese documents

On October 5, 2017, Guo disclosed in Washington a so-called "confidential document of the Chinese government," allegedly authenticated by U.S. authorities, which detailed China's covert plan to deploy 27 police officers to perform field duties within the United States during 2017.

Criminal charges in China

The Chinese government issued an Interpol arrest request for Guo in April 2017. By June that year, personnel from Guo's investment company, Pangu Investment, were charged with bank loan fraud; those accused asserted they acted under Guo's instructions.

Also in June 2017, China submitted a deportation petition for Guo to U.S. President Donald Trump, delivered through casino executive Steve Wynn. Reports indicate Trump considered the deportation but was counseled against it, viewing Guo as potential political leverage against China.

Twitter campaign against Guo

Research by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute revealed that Chinese government-controlled Twitter accounts, which were banned for meddling during the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests, targeted Guo more than any other individual—including Hong Kong protest leaders. Other dissidents targeted included Gui Minhai and Yu Wensheng. According to a South China Morning Post article, over 38,000 tweets from 618 suspended accounts focused on undermining Guo’s reputation.

Civil lawsuits

Multiple corporations initiated legal actions against Guo's Pangu Investment and Zenith Holdings in U.S. courts seeking recovery of alleged defaulted loans.

In April 2017, Pacific Alliance Asia Opportunity Fund filed suit against Guo in New York, where he was pursuing asylum. The fund had extended $30 million in 2008 to Guo’s Hong Kong-based firm for developing Pangu Plaza, a luxury hotel near Beijing’s Olympic venues. Guo provided a personal guarantee for this loan. Pacific Alliance asserts that Guo owes approximately $88 million including principal and interest. In 2020, a Manhattan apartment valued at $55 million and purchased for Guo was seized amid bankruptcy proceedings linked to this litigation.

In July 2017, Chinese actress Fan Bingbing brought defamation proceedings against Guo following his allegations of inappropriate ties with CCP official Wang Qishan.

In August 2017, HNA Group sued Guo in New York for defamation over false assertions that Yao Qing—a relative of Wang Qishan—was an HNA shareholder. HNA cited financial losses and share price declines but intended to dismiss the case by March 2019. Guo publicly declared his intention to persist with legal challenges.

On November 20, 2018, Guo and Steve Bannon hosted a conference in New York addressing the death of former HNA chairman Wang Jian. They announced the creation of the "Rule of Law Foundation," designed to investigate Chinese government financial dealings and support businessmen and officials persecuted by the CCP who have fled abroad. The foundation consists of a 501(c)(3) organization led by Kyle Bass and a 501(c)(4) chaired by Bannon.

In December 2018, Roger Stone reached a settlement with Guo by retracting false allegations that Guo had made donations to Hillary Clinton.

On July 23, 2019, Strategic Vision US LLC filed suit against Guo in federal court accusing him of espionage on behalf of the CCP; this lawsuit was dismissed. Subsequently, Guo initiated a $50 million defamation action in New York against Strategic Vision US and CNN anchor Erin Burnett, who had labeled him a spy during a television broadcast.

In August 2019, Hong Kong authorities froze bank accounts belonging to Guo and his family amid an investigation into HK$32.9 billion suspected money laundering. Court documents revealed at least HK$1.56 billion frozen across personal and corporate accounts linked to Guo. Anton Development Limited—owned by Guo’s daughter—claimed HK$730 million originated from an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund.

G News and GTV

G News is a platform owned by Guo Media and associated with Guo Wengui, operating in partnership with Steve Bannon, who previously served as executive chairman of Breitbart News and was an advisor during the Trump administration. Between August 2018 and August 2019, Guo Media compensated Bannon with $1 million for consulting work, and Bannon continues to maintain an office within Guo Media's main headquarters. Both individuals regularly feature in G News broadcasts where they criticize the Chinese government.

In 2020, Guo and Bannon jointly established GTV Media Group, which manages the Chinese video service GTV. According to the Wall Street Journal, companies under GTV became subjects of federal and state probes regarding unlawful fundraising activities. In 2021, these entities reached a settlement with the SEC, agreeing to refund more than $480 million to upwards of 5,000 investors and pay $35 million in penalties.

Misinformation by GTV and G News

During the COVID-19 outbreak, Guo’s media outlets were notable for disseminating false information. On January 25, 2020, G News inaccurately reported that the Chinese government would acknowledge COVID-19 originated from an accidental leak at a "P4 lab in Wuhan" connected to secret biological weapons research. Fact-checking organizations found no proof supporting this claim, categorizing it as misinformation.

In 2020, the New York Times revealed that Guo and Steve Bannon promoted Chinese virologist Li-Meng Yan, funding her relocation to the United States, guiding her media engagements, and arranging interviews with conservative figures such as Tucker Carlson. Yan’s unverified assertions that COVID-19 was artificially engineered were broadly dismissed by scientists as lacking scientific basis.

The publication Foreign Policy noted that prior to and during the 2020 U.S. presidential election, G News circulated fabricated stories and conspiracy theories, including falsehoods related to Hunter Biden. Guo utilized his large Twitter following to rapidly amplify these unconfirmed narratives. By December 2020, his Twitter account, which had over 500,000 followers, was suspended.

In July 2021, BBC News reported on Guo’s partnership with Bannon in spreading falsehoods about election fraud, COVID-19 vaccines, and QAnon conspiracies across various social media outlets.

In July 2024, Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs invoked the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act 2021 to instruct platforms such as X (Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok to block nearly one hundred social media accounts linked to Guo. The ministry identified these accounts as foreign-operated components of Guo’s antagonistic information campaign targeting Singapore. Lianhe Zaobao reported that these accounts shared videos alleging that Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong is controlled by the Chinese Communist Party and predicted that Singapore’s future would resemble Hong Kong’s.

Other controversies

In 2017, Guo Wengui accused Taiwanese actress Lin Chi-ling of having an affair with Chinese businessman Xiao Jianhua, a claim Lin rejected as "absurd, fabricated, and utterly foolish."

In December 2020, Teng Biao alleged that Guo organized protests outside the residences of Teng and other dissidents, accusing them of collusion with the Chinese government. This incident generated conflicting interpretations regarding Guo’s motives.

Criminal convictions

On March 15, 2023, Guo was taken into custody in New York on allegations of orchestrating a scheme to defraud his online supporters of more than $1 billion. The accusations encompassed $452 million from unregistered securities offerings, $150 million in loans connected to GTV, $250 million derived from membership programs, and $262 million associated with the Himalaya Exchange cryptocurrency initiative. He was charged with twelve criminal offenses, including securities fraud, wire fraud, racketeering, and money laundering. Guo entered a plea of not guilty and was detained pending trial.

Following a seven-week proceeding in the federal court of Manhattan, on July 16, 2024, Guo was found guilty on nine out of the twelve counts related to deceiving investors of approximately $1 billion. Additionally, he faces potential deportation to China, where further legal charges are pending against him.

His sentencing hearing is set for November 19, 2024.

See also

• Hao Haidong
• Gettr