In the high-risk, high-reward world of Silicon Valley and the emerging tech hubs in Guangzhou, a “legacy” generally is counted in lines of code or market capitalization or active monthly users. Xu Bo, the reclusive 48-year-old billionaire behind the Chinese gaming giant Duoyi Network, it’s DNA that will determine his legacy.
Recent revelations in California courtrooms and deep-dives by major investigative outlets have peeled back the curtain on a strategy that sounds like something out of a dystopian sci-fi novel. Xu, who has allegedly fathered more than 100 children through surrogacy, reportedly has a very particular goal in mind when it comes to his progeny: At least twenty US-born children that will one day takeover his billion-dollar video game empire.
The plan isn’t just about fatherhood; it is a strategic, geopolitical move — to form an “unstoppable family dynasty” that transcends borders and jurisdictions.
Constructing a ‘High-Quality’ Army of Heirs
The tale first gained worldwide interest after a court case in Los Angeles. At one hearing in 2023 to determine parental rights for some unborn babies, a judge discovered the stunning pattern: a single man — Xu Bo — had declared that he was the father of dozens of children at once.
Speaking by video conference from China, Xu said he shared details of his vision with all the “focal species” and described it in clinical terms. He’s not seeking a traditional family dinner; he wants a corporate board. I want 50 sons, 50 Ghazi.” The jihadist also says he wants to have an America-born son, as they’re strategically more valuable. In winning American citizenship for his heirs, Xu is building a cushion of legal protections and international mobility that his fortune alone cannot purchase in mainland China.
Why the United States?
Birthright Citizenship: Every child born on U.S. soil is a citizen, thanks to the 14th Amendment. For a Chinese tycoon, it offers a “Plan B” to fend off regulatory crack downs or political shifts at home.
Legal Protections: If your inheritance is in the line of a great fortune, things may get tricky when it comes to the law in China. U.S.-born heirs can more freely handle offshore assets and intellectual property.
The “Musk” Factor: Xu has shown a professed liking for Elon Musk pro-natalist views. He has reportedly fantasized about his children one day marrying into the influential families of other global tech elites in order to consolidate power.
Empire Hangs in the Balance at Video Game Show
You have to look at the source of the fortune, to understand the scale of this ambition. Xu Bo is the creator of Duoyi Network, one of China’s most successful mobile gaming companies. The company, known for hits such as Fantasy Westward Journey, has a market value that makes Xu a comfortable billionaire.
Yet China’s gaming sector has been under a heavly scrutiny and tightening regulation over the last couple of years. From restrictions on minors’ play time to rigid gaming licenses, the “home court” where Duoyi operates is becoming more treacherous.
In other words, by training 20 American-raised, West-experienced sons to take over the business, Xu is basically covering all his bases. Such children would be perfectly placed to serve as a middleman between the enormous Chinese development machine and the high-paying global gaming markets in North America and Europe. In Xu’s view, this is more than parenting — it is the mother of all executive searches.
The Controversy of Numbers
The number of Xu’s children is a moving target. Though his firm Duoyi Network downplayed the numbers recently — only admitting to 12 US-born kids, a figure which Yahoo says is backed up by evidence gathered from police reports and hospital records — his ex-girlfriend Tang Jing has claimed he fathered over 300 children around the world.
A viral video from 2022, which rreaksappeared this week but whose authenticity The New York Times could not independently verify, appeared to be filmed at one of Xu’s several residences:
This is not an isolated case of Xu Bo. He is part of a growing trend of “reproductive arbitrage” on the part of the global elite. From Pavel Durov, the Russian entrepreneur behind the messaging app Telegram (who has recently declared that he’s produced over 100 natural children through sperm donation) to Elon Musk publicly fretting about under population, tech elites are more and more perceiving biology as something that needs to be “disrupted.”
But for Xu, the tactic is all about corporate governance. In the United States, he is trying to “mass produce” heirs who will guarantee that his $1.1 billion fortune stays in the family bloodline regardless of what happens on the political and economic front back home in China.
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