80 billion Cai Chongxin, Draft night shocks the NBA

Written by Ma Xiaoyu Yan Ziwei Editor by Yan Ziwei

Tao Chongxin, setting a new record in the NBA league.

In late June, his Brooklyn Nets selected five rookies in one go. For the first time in league history, a team won five players in the first round of a single class.

It can be said that Cai is the boss with the strongest presence on this year's NBA draft night.

The New York Liberty, controlled by him and his wife Wu Minghua, also made great achievements in the Women's Basketball League (WNBA).

As of June 29, the Liberians had just won the game, winning the record of first place in the East and third in the league. In early January, the couple just sold part of the Liberty's equity at a valuation of $450 million to build a new training ground.

As the chairman of Alibaba's board of directors, Tsai Chongxin is currently in charge of supervising the changes of the giants. At the same time, his personal sports business is also advancing rapidly.

Sales are generous

In the field of sports, the billionaire has made frequent moves, spending money on people, shoes, and teams.

Generally speaking, most of the rookies selected for the first round are signed once in four years, and the total contract value is often as high as tens of millions of dollars. Cai’s family made a fortune and signed 5 rookies because their family is rich enough.

According to Forbes Rich List, the latest net worth of the Tsai Chongxin family is as high as US$11.2 billion, or approximately RMB 80 billion.

In the past nine months, he has also looked for two star targets in the sports industry. At the beginning of the year, he acquired a 12% stake in the Italian luxury sneaker brand Golden Goose through Blue Pool Capital.

The most well-known product of the target company is the Super-Star series sneakers, namely "little dirty shoes", and a pair of shoes costs about $500.

"Blue Pool Capital's deep expertise in the sports, entertainment and consumer industries, as well as its deep understanding of the Asia-Pacific market will help the Group further expand its influence," Golden Goose said in a statement.

In October last year, Tsai Chongxin joined hands with private equity firm Ares Management to negotiate in-depth with Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross to acquire the football team.

In just two months, he received league (NFL) approval to acquire a 3% stake in the Dolphins.

Buy and sell.

As the owner of the NBA team, Tsai Chongxin sold 15% of the Brooklyn Nets parent company BSE Global to American rich man Julia Koch and his family for nearly $700 million last year.

He acquired 49% of the Brooklyn Nets' shares for $1 billion in 2018, and a year later he acquired the remaining 51% of the shares for $1.35 billion, and won the Nets' home court Barclays Center for $1.15 billion alone.

In other words, he spent more than $3.5 billion to acquire existing assets of BSE Global, including the Brooklyn Nets, the New York Liberty and the Barclays Center.

It sold 15% of its shares, which was a small profit.

"I have a passion for sports, which is my original intention of investing in these teams. As the team boss, my pursuit every season is to win and strive for the championship."

Cai Chongxin said that he will not keep a close eye on the team's asset income statement, and the financial returns are only part of it.

"Sports not only teach you discipline and diligence, but also teach you how to face failure. If you fall and lose the game, you have to cheer up again. Many principles apply to business," he said.

Selecting NBA rookies is like opening a blind box, and there is great uncertainty. This record-breaking wins 5 places, breaking the rules of the league draft, and also shows that Cai is unconventional and dares to place bets.

Accurate vision

This Chinese couple is well versed in the ways of sports investment and turns their hobbies into profitable business.

Take the Liberty team as an example. It was originally a team that was unpopular, but when it was listed for sale, no one took over. In 2019, Cai Chongxin and Wu Minghua bought the team at an extremely low price. The trader of the

team is actually Wu Minghua.

She studied at Stanford and Harvard University, joined American Express after graduation, and took the position of vice president of Asia, with rich management experience.

In 2021, Wu Minghua was elected as the new Stanford school director

"At the beginning, no one wanted to buy this team." Wu said, "But we think the team's fundamentals are very good. It has the world's top women's basketball players, and the New York area is the largest media market in the United States." The first thing she did was to move the team back to New York City, fight at home at Barclays Center, so that local fans can watch the game up close; she also upgraded the hardware, such as creating high-end locker rooms, and gathered a strong lineup through drafts, trades and free agent signing.

She also went to Türkiye in person to sign with Stewart, who is good at three-point shooting.

"This is a critical step. Stewart is the core of our success. Without her, the team would not have the status we are today." Wu Minghua admitted.

After 5 years of careful operation, the Liberty team made a big splash and won the first WNBA championship trophy in October 2024.

The results have increased and the fans have increased. During this period, the team's sideline tickets were in short supply, and the ticket prices in the secondary market have risen.

Sponsors came. As of the end of 2024, the number of sponsors of the Liberty team exceeded 50, an increase of nearly 61% year-on-year.

This year, the team started with 9 consecutive victories and is currently slightly behind and still has the hope of winning the championship again.

"We have a responsibility to ensure that the team is financially sound and continue to tap the business potential of the WNBA. "Wu Minghua's ambition is more than that. Her goal is to build the first women's sports team worth one billion US dollars.

To this end, she sold some shares of the Liberty team to build a new training base. The team announced that it will build a training ground of about 7,300 square meters, with a total cost of US$80 million and is expected to open in 2027. The Lanchi Capital, which casts nets everywhere, is the family office of Cai Chongxin and Alibaba founder Jack Ma.

Home office is a professional and institutionalized wealth management model and one of the important choices for the rich. The official website of Lanchi is very low-key, with only one logo, a picture and five elements text, displaying address and trading cards Photo. The office is located at 500 Hennessy Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. Oliver Wesberg is also hired as CEO in a landmark building in a local business district.

Wesberg graduated from Harvard University, living and engaging in business in China for a long time, and speaking fluent Chinese. When he worked at Goldman Sachs, he participated in Alibaba's investment and joined its board of directors. Perhaps it was during this period that he met two "new rich" in Alibaba, tech.

Wesberg and also participated in the management of Tsai's sports business. He also served as an alternate director for the Brooklyn Nets and the New York Liberty, and he is also a BSE Vice Chairman of Global. After Blue Pool acquires stake in Golden Goose, he will also join the board of directors of the sneaker company.

"We trust Golden Goose and its management team, and its positioning at the intersection of luxury and sportswear is truly unique. "Wesberg said.

is not just about working in a family office, Lanchi Capital has greater ambitions.

In July 2024, it announced that it would complete the raising of a new fund called "Harborside", with a scale of US$500 million, or approximately RMB 3.5 billion.

This fund represents its new strategy - establishing an asset management business open to external clients, focusing on investing in hedge funds and private credit funds.

The story of this elite couple is still continuing.