via Jim Romenesko
No, not you pay him $300 to have lunch. He pays you.
It costs $330,001 to have lunch with Apple CEO Tim Cook, but not only would your lunch be free if you dine with Chinese tycoon Chen Guangbiao. He'll give you $300 to boot.
Chen, a billionaire who made his money in recycling, who happens to have the world's most interesting business card (below), is quite famous for his quixotic adventures.
First, he introduced his own line of canned fresh air to combat China's notorious air pollution. Now, he's making good on the claim of "Most Charismatic Philanthropist of China" as claimed by his business card, by inviting 1,000 destitute Americans living in New York to lunch via an ad placed in the New York Times earlier this week.
According to South China Morning Post, Chen wanted to "spread the message in the US that there are good philanthropists in China and not all are crazy spenders on luxury goods."
"At the same time, there are many wealthy Chinese billionaires but most of them gained their wealth from market speculation and colluding with government officials while destroying the environment," Chen added. "I can’t bear the sight of it, because all they do is splurge on luxury goods, gambling and prostitution and very few of them sincerely live up their social responsibility"
"I’m trying to stimulate them to do good."
According to QZ, Chen compared himself to Lei Feng, a selfless soldier in the People's Liberation Army that became China's national hero. This controversial stunt is the latest in Chen's string of exploits (which included trying to buy The New York Times, and after failing to do so, the Wall Street Journal.)
Regardless of his intention, the lunch seems to be real (Chen promised that he'd sing "We Are The World" during the meal).
What is clear now is that my life, prior to learning that this is a thing, has been wasted. My remaining years will be dedicated to preserving the environment through as many acts of demolition as possible!