Only Son Of The Richest Man in China REFUSES To Take Over His Father's £100billion Business Empire

'He does not want to live a life like mine': Only son of the richest man in China REFUSES to take over his father's £100billion business empire

The son of China's wealthiest man doesn't want to inherit his $122 billion empire

Wang Jianlin, 62, is founder and chairman of China's Dalian Wanda Group

His son, Wang Sicong, 28, is a director of his father's conglomerate

The father owns shopping centres, hotels, theme parks, sports clubs and more

The wealthiest man in China needs to find an heir to his $122 billion empire after his son told him he does not want to live a life like that.

Wang Jianlin, founder and chairman of Dalian Wanda Group, said his only son, 28-year-old Wang Sicong, doesn't want to take over his shopping centres, hotels, theme parks and sports clubs.

'I have asked my son about the succession plan, and he said he does not want to live a life like mine,' Wang, 62, told an entrepreneurs summit over the weekend.

The transcript of the speech published on the Wanda group website was translated from Chinese by South China Morning Post.

'Perhaps young people have their own quests and priorities. Probably it will be better to hand over to professional managers and have us sit on the board and see them run the company,' Wang said.

'We have several professional managers as candidates.

'The one who is handpicked and later trained to be a business leader should be no better than those who manage to stand out of the others through competition.'

 Wang Sicong is a director at his father's empire, with a 2 per cent stake, South China Morning Post reported.

Wang Sicong is the only child of Wang Jianlin

He founded Prometheus Capital in 2011 and has made investments in Invictus Gaming, Dining Concepts Holdings.

In May last year, the son bought two Apple Watches for his dog, called Wang Keke, who wears them both on his front legs.

In May last year, the son bought two Apple Watches for his dog, called Wang Keke, who wears them both on his front legs

Pictures of the dog wearing the smart watches were posted to Weibo, China's answer to Twitter.

In a country with a fast widening wealth gap, the pictures quickly caused outcry. Apple Watch sells between £820 and £1,300 in China, which is more than the monthly salary of an average office worker in big cities. 

Sicong has 21 million followers on Weibo, while his dog has its own account.

The son went to school in Britain and studied philosophy at the University College London.