Liu Yiqian
Liu Yiqian | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1963 Shanghai, China |
| Occupation(s) | Investor, art collector |
| Years active | Mid-1980s–present |
| Known for | Chairman of Sunline Group; founder of Long Museum; notable art collector |
Liu Yiqian (, pronounced , born in 1963) is a Chinese billionaire known for his investments and passion for art collecting. Self-taught and once employed as a taxi driver, he amassed his wealth starting from the mid-1980s through strategic ventures in stock markets, real estate, and the pharmaceutical sector.
Biography
Liu was born in 1963 into a working-class household in Shanghai. At the age of 14, he left school to assist his mother in selling handbags. During the mid-1980s, he worked as a taxi driver in Shanghai before seizing opportunities presented by China's economic reforms throughout the 1990s. He invested in shares priced around 160 yuan (approximately $30) in a Chinese firm that later became one of the earliest to be publicly listed; within two years, these shares surged to over 10,000 yuan. Liu further increased his fortune by purchasing stock from employees of state-owned companies prior to their public offerings.
While working as a taxi driver, he met his wife, Wang Wei. Together, they have four children: three daughters and one son.
Business
Liu serves as chairman of Sunline Group, an investment company based in Shanghai. By 2010, his real estate portfolio had expanded significantly, valued at roughly 10 billion yuan (around US$1.6 billion) accumulated over nearly two decades.
In 2004, he established Tianping Auto Insurance alongside Guohua Life Insurance. In April 2013, Tianping entered into a joint venture with AXA.
Forbes estimated Liu's net worth at US$1.37 billion as of July 2015, placing him 163rd among China's wealthiest individuals and 1,533rd worldwide.
Art collecting
In April 2014, Liu acquired a 500-year-old Ming dynasty doucai chicken cup for HK$281.24 million (US$36.3 million).
March 2015 saw him purchase a 600-year-old embroidered silk thangka commissioned by the Yongle Emperor of the Ming dynasty for HK$348 million (US$45 million), setting a record for a Chinese artwork sold through an international auction house. Later that month, he also bought an antique Tibetan bronze yogi at Sotheby's in New York.
In April 2015, Liu paid US$14.7 million for a Guan ware vase dating back to the Southern Song dynasty.
In November 2015, he acquired Nu couché (1917–18), a famous reclining nude painting by Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani, for US$170.4 million at Christie's in New York. This purchase marked the second-highest auction price ever recorded for a piece of art. Remarkably, he completed the payment using his American Express Centurion card.
Long Museum
Together with his wife Wang Wei, Liu founded the Long Museum, which currently operates two venues in Shanghai. In 2016, they launched a third location in Chongqing and planned to open another branch in Wuhan by 2018.