Chinese legendary tycoon Li Chunping, who caused a sensation at home and abroad by inheriting a massive fortune from a Hollywood heiress, recently passed away in Beijing at the age of 76. His life journey took him from poverty to amassing a fortune of 26.8 billion RMB (15.7 billion MYR), a story of both enormous success and dramatic twists. As news of his death spread, a battle for his huge estate immediately broke out, once again sparking public debate.
Remarkable Looks Resembling Hollywood Heiress’s First Love
Born in 1949, Li Chunping served in the military when young, but was later sent to re-education through labor after injuring a rival in love, and subsequently suffered betrayal by a girlfriend. According to Li Chunping’s autobiography, after China’s reform and opening up, he met a Hollywood retired heiress and actress who was traveling in Beijing, at a hotel. The actress felt that the handsome Li Chunping resembled her American first love, and took him back to live with her in California, USA.
Li Chunping insisted that he genuinely wanted to repay the heiress for her kindness. After 13 years together, following a lengthy period of consideration, the Hollywood heiress married him before her death in 1991, allowing him to inherit her entire fortune, which amounted to 7 billion RMB (4.1 billion MYR).
Fortune once soared to 15.7 billion
After returning to China, Li Chunping enjoyed spectacular success, with his personal assets soaring at one point to 26.8 billion RMB (15.7 billion MYR). He lived an extremely luxurious lifestyle, owning a mansion of over 400 pings (approx. 1,320 sq meters), ordering three Rolls-Royce cars at once, and becoming one of the earliest Rolls-Royce owners in China. It’s also said that his home was filled with antiques and famous paintings, he had more than 40 servants, including nine full-time drivers, and kept millions of yuan in cash in his safe at all times. Meanwhile, Li Chunping was enthusiastic about charity and was dubbed “Mainland China’s Number One Philanthropist.”
Due to the legendary nature of his life, Li Chunping’s story was adapted into the 2009 TV drama ”Love in the Human World”, starring Deng Chao, Fan Bingbing, and Li Xiaoran.
However, behind the glory, there were undercurrents—In 2002 Li Chunping was once detained for allegedly purchasing stolen cultural relics. In later years, after suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, his health steadily declined. In 2017, it was reported that he was coerced into marrying his 39-year-old caregiver, Yu Qicun, and had his assets transferred, ending up destitute and lonely in his later years. He eventually passed away in hospital, with no family at his side.
Li Chunping never revealed the true identity of the Hollywood actress. Speculation suggested she may have been Katharine Hepburn or Chaplin’s ex-wife Paulette Goddard, but it is said that due to inheritance conditions, he was prohibited from disclosing her name or remarrying.
After news of Li Chunping’s passing came out, a woman claiming to be his “fiancée” appeared first online, posting a family photo of Li Chunping, his son, and herself. Following that, internet singer Han Kaiyi released a video admitting she was the biological mother of Li Chunping’s 10-year-old son, and stated that the boy had “disappeared after being taken away”. To prove her identity, she released a rare family photo, and the striking resemblance between the baby and Li Chunping sparked heated discussion among netizens. She emotionally declared that she had engaged a lawyer, seeking to resolve the estate inheritance according to the law, and stressed that her son should have his legitimate inheritance rights protected.