Chinese millionaire holds lunch for homeless New Yorkers
Last edited Wed Jun 25, 2014, 09:21 PM - Edit history (1)
Source: Reuters
A wealthy Chinese businessman who once tried to buy the New York Times offered a free lunch of seared tuna and filet mignon to several hundred homeless New Yorkers at a swank Central Park restaurant on Wednesday.
Chen Guangbiao, who made his fortune in the recycling business, took out newspaper advertisements last week inviting "poor and destitute Americans" to lunch in the park.
Several hundred people showed up for the lunch and Chen entertained them by singing "We Are the World," the 1985 charity hit song to fund African famine relief, and a ceremony in which Chen was presented with a certificate declaring him "the world's greatest philanthropist."
He announced to applause and cheers he would hand out $300 to each of the guests and also introduced a self-immolation survivor whose medical treatment he paid for.
Read more: http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/06/25/usa-people-chen-idINL4N0P63TA20140625
Edit - Other Google News sources, specifically the New York Post and New York Daily News (I know, I know) are claiming that the $300 each was not given to attendees but donated to a homeless shelter. Haven't checked other news outlets.
another_liberal
(8,821 posts)Not humiliating at all, not even a bit.
(sarcasm)
olddad56
(5,732 posts)kelliekat44
(7,759 posts)maindawg
(1,151 posts)I think Detroit is for sale.
valerief
(53,235 posts)olddad56
(5,732 posts)tom_kelly
(951 posts)davidpdx
(22,000 posts)Yet people in his own country are starving. That is an irony that some DUers are blind to.
JackRiddler
(24,979 posts)Come on, when you hear billionaire and charity in the media, think of Jesus condemning the Pharisees. Someone who wanted to do good would keep his name out of it.
Here's how the story turned out in the afternoon, after these PR pieces had already appeared in the tabloids:
https://news.vice.com/article/how-hundreds-of-new-york-citys-homeless-were-duped-by-a-chinese-billionaire-today
By Olivia Becker
June 25, 2014 | 6:50 pm
A Chinese millionaire treated 250 homeless New Yorkers to a feast and karaoke rendition of We Are the World in Central Park today, but pretty much everyone left the event totally pissed off.
The Chinese tycoon Chen Guangbiao began advertising the event last week, saying he would be giving away a gourmet lunch and $300 to homeless people in New York. After the word spread of the free cash and meals, people began sleeping in Central Park Tuesday night.
But it quickly became clear that no one would be getting any money. VICE News was on the scene today as a spokeswoman for the New York City Rescue Mission, the shelter that organized the event, went on stage at the Loeb Boathouse Central Park restaurant and told the crowd that no one would be getting any cash, and instead Chen would be donating the money directly to the shelter.
Mr. Chen agreed instead to give $90,000 to the mission, read a press release handed out to the event by the Rescue Mission shelter. We regret there was miscommunication, likely due to translation which created expectation for our guests that they would receive cash.
SNIP MORE AT LINK
Yeah, translation problems, the guy really doesn't know his way around New York yet!!!