"China's Buffett" Guo Guangchang's wealth shrinks by 37 billion yuan over five years, Fosun International expects a loss of more than 21.5 billion yuan, continuing its slimming and restructuring strategy.

Yangtze Business News ●Yangtze Business Reporter Shen Yourong

The capital tycoon Guo Guangchang, known as the “Chinese Buffett,” still faces pressure.

The recently released 2026 Hurun Global Rich List ranks Guo Guangchang with a net worth of 31 billion yuan, placing him at 1,054th, a decrease of 37 billion yuan from 2021’s 68 billion yuan.

Related to his shrinking wealth, Fosun International (00656.HK), under Guo Guangchang, is about to report its worst financial results ever. On the evening of March 6, the company issued a profit warning, expecting a loss of 21.5 billion to 23.5 billion yuan in 2025.

Impairments in real estate assets, goodwill, and intangible assets are the main reasons for Fosun International’s huge losses, which market analysts see as Guo Guangchang’s major financial cleanup.

Starting in 1992 with 38,000 yuan, Guo Guangchang built a vast Fosun empire centered on real estate and pharmaceuticals. At its peak, Fosun had 19 listed companies. Because of this, Guo Guangchang is often called the “Chinese Buffett.”

However, market volatility and the pressure from Guo Guangchang’s leveraged expansion have arrived unexpectedly. From a decisive global “buy” spree, he has shifted to “sell,” attempting to resolve financial crises through a “slimming and strengthening” strategy.

Over the past four years, Guo Guangchang has reluctantly divested from well-known companies such as Tsingtao Brewery, Nanjing Steel, Rock Petroleum, Zhaojin Mining, and US insurance companies, raising approximately 80 billion yuan in total.

As of the end of June 2025, Fosun International’s debt stood at 222.1 billion yuan, with over 50% being short-term debt, while cash and equivalents amounted to only 67.8 billion yuan.

The “slimming and strengthening” strategy continues. Whether Guo Guangchang can successfully navigate this crisis remains a focus of market attention.

The “Chinese Buffett” Who Buys Globally

Guo Guangchang is called the “Chinese Buffett” because of his global acquisitions and the creation of a nearly trillion-yuan Fosun empire.

Public information shows that Guo Guangchang was born in 1967 in Dongyang, Zhejiang. In 1985, he was admitted to Fudan University’s Department of Philosophy and later stayed on as a teacher after graduation.

In 1992, Guo Guangchang gave up studying abroad and, with alumnus Liang Xinjun, invested 38,000 yuan to start a business, founding Guangxin Technology Consulting.

In 1993, Yuan’s Food entered Shanghai, seeking a professional company for strategic development. Guo Guangchang secured this contract, earning his first 300,000 yuan. He then conducted market research for Sun God and Le Kai Films. That year, Guo Guangchang earned his first million yuan.

Soon after, alumni Wang Qunbin, Fan Wei, and Tan Jian joined, forming Fosun’s “Five Swordsmen,” and the company was renamed “Fosun,” meaning “Fudan Star.”

This proved Guo Guangchang’s strong business talent. In June 1993, he entered real estate and biopharmaceuticals.

By 1994, Fosun’s annual revenue exceeded 10 million yuan; in 1995, in its third year, Fosun made its first 100 million yuan through hepatitis B PCR reagent industrialization. Fosun High Technology became Shanghai’s first private high-tech enterprise.

In 1998, Fosun Industrial restructured and was renamed Fosun Pharma, listing on the A-share market with 350 million yuan raised.

Recognizing the power of capital markets, Guo Guangchang quickly connected industry and finance, expanding Fosun’s business scope.

In 2001, Guo led Fosun’s acquisition of Yuyuan Shopping Mall (now Yuyuan Shares), one of the “Old Eight Stocks.” In 2003, Fosun acquired Nanjing Steel, marking China’s first takeover bid.

In 2007, Fosun International, with many acquisitions, listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, raising HKD 12.8 billion, becoming the third-largest IPO that year. That year, Guo Guangchang’s net worth reached 36.23 billion yuan, making him Shanghai’s new richest person.

Beyond domestic mergers, Guo also expanded overseas. His acquisitions included France’s Mediterranean Club, Portugal’s insurance, Dingrui Reinsurance, US-based AmeriTrust Insurance, US women’s fashion brand St. John, Portugal’s Luz Saúde healthcare, and Germany’s private banking.

Guo Guangchang’s global acquisitions span real estate, pharmaceuticals, finance, retail, jewelry, steel, mining, entertainment, and film industries. He also invested in high-speed rail, becoming China’s first private high-speed rail “pioneer.”

Through global acquisitions, Guo Guangchang built a Fosun empire nearing a trillion yuan. He has been on the Hurun Rich List for 27 consecutive years, earning him the nickname “Chinese Buffett.”

The “Slimming and Strengthening” Strategy Turns to Global Selling

After 20 years of aggressive global mergers and acquisitions, Guo Guangchang reversed course on Fosun’s 30th anniversary, shifting to “global selling.”

Guo mainly uses two investment platforms for global acquisitions: Fosun International for international assets and Fosun High Tech for domestic assets.

How much has Guo spent on global acquisitions? The public cannot know for sure.

At its peak, Fosun had over 100 companies, held stakes in more than 40 listed companies, and included 19 listed companies globally.

By the end of June 2022, Fosun International’s total assets reached 849.685 billion yuan, with deep industry presence in over 30 countries and regions, owning 48 overseas brands and employing over 41,000 overseas staff.

Guo Guangchang once said that nearly half of Fosun’s industries and employees are overseas.

Global expansion carries risks. HNA Group has changed ownership, and Wanda Group’s Wang Jianlin has been selling assets since 2017, including Wanda Plaza.

In 2022, Guo Guangchang also began “selling globally.” Assets such as US insurer AmeriTrust, Zhaojin Mining, Taikang Insurance, Jinhui Liquor, Tsingtao Brewery, Rock Petroleum, and even 3% of Fosun Pharma’s shares were disposed of.

In 2023, Guo sold assets including Nanjing Steel and IGI Group.

In 2024, he sold Germany’s private bank, Shanghai Xingguang Yao Plaza Phase II, and Hokkaido’s Hoshino Tomamu Resort in Japan.

In 2025, Guo sold Luz Saúde in Portugal and tourism real estate in Lijiang and Taicang.

Entering 2026, Guo sold stakes in Shanhai Pharmaceutical, Caruso men’s clothing brand, and Chongqing Rural Commercial Bank.

According to incomplete statistics, since 2022, Fosun’s global “sell” strategy has raised about 80 billion yuan.

Notably, in 2022, Fosun’s debt issues drew market attention. Fosun International’s CFO Gong Ping publicly clarified that the rumored 650 billion yuan debt figure was a misunderstanding. The 650 billion yuan refers to Fosun’s consolidated liabilities, including debts of financial subsidiaries like insurance companies. The actual corporate debt of Fosun International is about 260 billion yuan.

After five years of “slimming and strengthening,” how much debt does Fosun International still carry? According to its financial report, as of June 2025, total debt was 222.1 billion yuan, slightly up from 214.1 billion yuan at the end of 2024, with 48.5% being medium- and long-term debt. Meanwhile, cash and equivalents stood at 67.83 billion yuan, down 38.53 billion yuan from the end of 2024, mainly due to Fosun no longer holding HAL.

Clearly, Fosun International’s financial pressure remains significant. In the first half of 2025, its financial expenses reached 6.505 billion yuan, slightly higher than the previous year.

Accusations of Not Truly Learning from Buffett

Despite five years of asset disposals, Guo Guangchang’s financial crisis remains unresolved.

Known as the “Chinese Buffett,” some analysts say Guo Guangchang has not truly adopted Buffett’s investment philosophy.

Guo Guangchang’s large-scale acquisitions of insurance companies attempted to emulate Buffett’s “insurance + investment” model, using insurance’s medium- and long-term funds for acquisitions.

Publicly, Buffett’s investment principles include “be greedy when others are fearful, be fearful when others are greedy,” “only invest in businesses you understand with high future earnings certainty,” and “inflation is the investor’s greatest enemy.” A core requirement is maintaining sufficient cash flow.

Companies like Coca-Cola, American Express, and Apple have been Buffett’s investments for decades, exemplifying value investing.

Guo Guangchang’s global buying spree, often unrelated to his original expertise in real estate and pharmaceuticals, involves sectors like liquor, beer, jewelry, entertainment, banking, asset management, steel, and even high-speed rail. How well he understands these industries and the potential synergies among them is questionable.

Some comment that Fosun’s acquisitions are a hodgepodge, not necessarily “what they understand.” Perhaps initial gains led Guo to become overly aggressive in later investments.

In fact, not all of Guo Guangchang’s investments are high-quality. In 2021, he invested 2.68 billion yuan through Fosun High Tech to acquire control of Wansheng Shares (603010.SH).

Wansheng mainly produces organic phosphorus flame retardants and other rubber and plastic additives. From 2022 to 2024, its net profit attributable to shareholders declined for three consecutive years, from 824 million yuan in 2021 to 103 million yuan in 2024; in 2025, it is expected to lose 890 million to 1.06 billion yuan.

Currently, Wansheng’s market value is 7.163 billion yuan. Fosun High Tech holds 29.56% of its shares, worth about 2.117 billion yuan, plus dividends of 153 million yuan over recent years, totaling 2.27 billion yuan. Even without considering capital costs, Guo Guangchang’s investment in Wansheng has a paper loss of 410 million yuan.

The core reason for Guo Guangchang’s global investment failures is the lack of truly maintaining sufficient cash flow. Asset sales to ease financial pressure highlight the overly aggressive early acquisitions.

Of course, the current situation of Guo Guangchang and Fosun is also closely related to the deep adjustments in global markets and China’s real estate sector.

Fosun’s operations are under pressure. Besides Wansheng, Yuyuan Shares is expected to lose 4.8 billion yuan in 2025, and Hainan Mining’s net profit attributable to shareholders in the first three quarters of 2025 decreased by 42.84% year-on-year.

Fosun International’s latest profit warning indicates that in 2025, the company expects a loss of 21.5 to 23.5 billion yuan, its worst annual performance ever.

The loss exceeding 20 billion yuan is related to impairments in real estate, goodwill, and intangible assets.

Fosun International states that its fundamentals remain stable, with core industries like pharmaceuticals, healthcare, insurance, and finance showing good development momentum. The company will continue to focus on its core businesses and pursue a “slimming and strengthening” financial strategy.

In March 2026, Hurun released the “2026 Hurun Global Rich List,” ranking Guo Guangchang at 1,054th with 31 billion yuan, more than halved from 68 billion yuan in 2021.

From global acquisitions to global divestments, Guo Guangchang is using asset sales to recover from financial crises. 2026 will be a pivotal year for Guo Guangchang—whether he can continue “selling” his way out of trouble or find a real solution to stop the bleeding will determine Fosun’s future direction.