Official-turned-entrepreneur
Huang, born in 1956 in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, once worked in the Central Propaganda Department as department chief and was a party member until 1995, when he established the Zhongkun Investment Group.
According to China Newsweek, many people from Huang's generation are in fact officials-turned-entrepreneurs, who are "greedy" on the one hand, yet hope to atone for one of the "seven deadly sins" on the other.
"In the early days, companies could play the market due to legal loopholes like illicit trading," said Huang. "In this regard, I am not absolutely clean, but, to be frank, I am not a serious briber either. Sometimes when I invited government leaders for overseas investigations, I had to pay some bills. This is for sure."
"However, when I look back on it, I feel kind of guilty and hope to atone for my 'sins,' like immoral corruption and damage to the environment," Huang added.
In one of his first moves as an entrepreneur, Huang announced the company's purpose as "Let's Do More for Our Community" upon its foundation.
"In my opinion, enterprises should shoulder as many social responsibilities as possible and give back to society through funding charities and environmental protection groups," explained Huang.
An ordinary philanthropist?
Though the "Guo Meimei Incident" in June brought Chinese charities into a harsh spotlight and also seriously affected philanthropic actions from entrepreneurs, Huang insists on helping those in need and suggests that the government should place more trust in charitable social organizations.
And despite his considerable wealth, Huang stressed that he feels no different than an ordinary person.
"After climbing many mountains, I gradually realized that money is not important. I will donate half of my money to Peking University, and the other half to my employees, meaning I will return it all back to society," said Huang.
Huang is now a deputy to the Daxing District People's Congress in Beijing, a political title that he plans to give up this year. "I used to be an official, but would like to be an entrepreneur and a poet now," explained Huang. "I'd be very happy if people praised my company and my poetry."
Huang has published a number of poetry anthologies and novels under the penname of Luo Ying. In December 2005, he donated 30 million yuan to promote the development of Chinese poetry.
