The legendary "dark horse tycoon" who excelled in the "empty glove white wolf" technique and transformed into the blockchain industry after being released from prison, Yang Bin, once China's second richest man, has once again fallen from grace.
By Jaleel Plus Six, BlockBeats
On August 26, 2024, at the Singapore High Court, Yang Bin, the former Chinese billionaire, now sits in the defendant's seat. With his usually dark complexion looking rather unhealthy, Yang Bin, through a court translator, informed the judge that he is suffering from stomach cancer.
As the judge read the verdict, the courtroom fell silent. Yang Bin was sentenced to six years in prison and fined 16,000 Singapore dollars for allegedly orchestrating a Ponzi scheme involving cryptocurrency investments and manipulating millions of dollars. This scheme originated in 2021 when Yang Bin, under the guise of A&A Blockchain Innovation, attracted a large number of investors, claiming to have 300,000 cryptocurrency mining machines and promising a daily return of 0.5%. In reality, these mining machines never existed, and Yang Bin used new investors' funds to pay early participants, a typical Ponzi scheme tactic. Ultimately, this scheme was fully exposed under the investigation of Singapore's regulatory authorities.
This is not the first time Yang Bin has faced legal sanctions. In 2003, he was sentenced to 18 years in prison by a Chinese court. "Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years and then became president. I, Yang Bin, was imprisoned for 18 years and came out at the age of 58, and I can still become president," he said, his arrogance undiminished even by the 68-page thick verdict.
This former Chinese tycoon and special zone leader of North Korea has had a business empire legend filled with ambition and glory, as well as a fascinating legendary experience: from an orphan to a billionaire, from a business tycoon to a prisoner. The following content reveals the complete truth about this once glorious "dark horse tycoon."
Yang Bin lighting a cigarette for the second person in North Korea, Kim Yong-nam
From orphan to tycoon, Yang Bin's wealth legend
Yang Bin's business legend began in poverty but was highly dramatic. As an orphan from an ordinary family, he worked hard to enter the Naval Academy and stayed on as a teacher due to his outstanding academic performance. However, at the age of 25, he went to the Netherlands to pursue extraordinary international business adventures with the $10,000 he had saved from working odd jobs.
In the Netherlands, Yang Bin astutely identified market opportunities between China and Eastern Europe. He quickly made a name for himself in the import and export markets for textiles and clothing, amassing a fortune of $20 million within just two years, marking his first major success in life.
Soon after, Yang Bin shifted his focus to China. Against the backdrop of economic reforms, he founded the "Dutch Village" greenhouse agriculture project and quickly became a leader in the agricultural industry. His foreign status allowed him to obtain a large number of tax exemptions and government support, rapidly expanding his business.
Dutch Village buildings
However, what truly brought Yang Bin to fame was his successful listing of Eurasian Agriculture on the Hong Kong capital market in 2001. This move not only brought in a huge amount of capital but also propelled Yang Bin to the forefront of China's rich list, making him a hot "dark horse tycoon."
"Good in business, good in politics," Yang Bin also set his sights on the political arena. On September 24, 2002, Yang Bin secured the position of the Chief Executive of the Sinuiju Special Administrative Region in North Korea, somewhat similar to the Chief Executive of Hong Kong in China. At a press conference, Yang Bin even directly declared to the media, "I am the adopted son of Mr. Kim Jong-il."
Yang Bin's extraordinary "empty glove white wolf" technique
However, just the day before he was about to take up his post in North Korea, the police surrounded Yang Bin's villa. Along with the security guards and two guard dogs, Yang Bin was taken away from the Dutch Village for investigation. In July of the following year, Yang Bin was sentenced to 18 years in prison for multiple offenses and was incarcerated.
It was only at this point that the public realized that Yang Bin was an extremely skilled swindler, a master of the "empty glove white wolf" technique.
The most sophisticated scams are often not entirely fictional but cleverly interweave fact and fiction, making it difficult to discern. Why was Yang Bin able to become the richest man through deception? To a large extent, it was because there were indeed real elements in his experiences.
According to Yang Bin's own account, he was born in Nanjing in 1963 and became an orphan at the age of 5; he entered the Naval Second Artillery Academy at the age of 18 and stayed on as a teacher; at the age of 24, he went to study in the Netherlands and obtained Dutch citizenship; at the age of 27, he started his own company in the Netherlands, engaging in the trade of clothing and textiles. This modern version of "Oliver Twist" is also Yang Bin's deliberate portrayal of his public image. However, the reality is far from this.
After an in-depth investigation by the Shenyang Public Security Bureau, Yang Bin's resume was gradually revealed. He did not directly enter a military academy as he claimed but was sent to a military academy after joining the army in his hometown of Nanjing, and he did not study for a bachelor's degree but for an associate degree. After graduation, he continued to serve as a soldier in the technical service department, rather than staying on as a teacher.
Journalist Wang Yude obtained different versions of Yang Bin's resume from Yang Bin himself and the public security bureau
After that, Yang Bin became a factory worker and met a Dutch girl. He left China under the guise of "visiting friends" and then stayed in the Netherlands without returning to China. Although he registered for an economics major at Leiden University in the Netherlands, he did not complete his studies.
Xu Hongjiong, a student studying computer programming in the Netherlands, once visited Yang Bin's home and knew that Yang Bin had never attended university, was not proficient in Dutch, and did not have much knowledge of finance. Yang Bin's acquisition of Dutch citizenship was also not honorable. According to several informed sources, Yang Bin obtained Dutch citizenship through deception and fraud.
This can also continue to analyze the authenticity of the origin of Yang Bin's "first pot of gold." He claimed that after the disintegration of Eastern Europe, he astutely seized market opportunities and quickly accumulated $20 million in assets through trade between China and Poland. However, the reality is far from this. According to some sources in the Netherlands, Yang Bin did not earn any money through the so-called "international trade" in the early 1990s. Instead, he relied on government relief funds that his wife, Pan Chaorong, and children applied for in the Netherlands to support their livelihood.
"It's impossible, it's impossible, there must be a mistake," when news of Yang Bin making $20 million in the Netherlands reached the Netherlands, his former friends and acquaintances were all surprised. "The Chinese community in the Netherlands is small. Whoever starts a company and makes a lot of money will be known very quickly."
A Chinese restaurant owner who had known Yang Bin for over a decade revealed that between 1991 and 1992, he had cooperated with Yang Bin on some small business ventures, which were very limited in scale and far from the millions of dollars in assets that Yang Bin claimed. Even by 1992, when Yang Bin registered two small companies, their scale was only equivalent to a small private enterprise in China. "It can be confirmed that by 1992, Yang Bin definitely did not have $20 million."
A genius businessman and orator with a keen sense of smell
Although Yang Bin was notorious for his scams, it was not enough for him to rapidly accumulate wealth and gain widespread influence solely through deception. In fact, he was extremely business-savvy, adept at capital operations, and kept up with the times, knowing how to leverage financial instruments, capital markets, and government policy dividends.
There have been reports in the media claiming that Yang Bin did not understand English at all. This claim is inaccurate. A journalist witnessed Yang Bin speaking in English with a foreign friend at the door of his office, although his accent was not very pure. According to those who knew Yang Bin, despite his military academy background, he was not very interested in military affairs. On the contrary, he had a genuine interest in English and Dutch agriculture.
"The Netherlands not only accounts for 73% of the world's flower exports but is also known as the 'European vegetable basket,' with vegetables accounting for 67% of the entire Europe," it is said that this is the opening statement Yang Bin often used.
Yang Bin inspecting Dutch Village
With his hobbies and highly infectious speeches, Yang Bin convinced everyone that the future Dutch Village would not only be an agricultural treasure but also a tourist destination, with Disneyland, Universal Studios, indoor tropical rainforests, and seaside amusement parks, making it the world's largest indoor beach.
"Japan's annual demand for vegetables is 1 trillion RMB, and other staple foods are 1.5 trillion RMB. As long as we occupy one-third of the market, the annual profit will exceed 750 billion RMB," Yang Bin clearly knows how to persuade others with concepts and prospects. Shenyang actively invited Yang Bin to establish a base and branch office, and promised preferential land and tax exemptions.
On December 18, 1997, the Eurasian Group established its headquarters in Shenyang and gradually sold shares in seven or eight branch offices nationwide. With the land in hand, Yang Bin began to demonstrate his clever operation in the capital market.
Loans were one of his main sources of funds. Yang Bin borrowed a huge sum of 400 million RMB from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and a loan of 30 million RMB from the Agricultural Bank. At the same time, Yang Bin also raised funds through the stock market, mainly through asset restructuring and high dividend distributions. After a series of capital operations, Yang Bin reaped huge returns.
In addition, Yang Bin also knew how to use people and found Yan Chuang, a professional accountant, to serve as the director, vice president, and vice chairman of the board. Yan Chuang not only became Yang Bin's right-hand man but also became the first planner and operator of Eurasian Agriculture's listing in Hong Kong.
On July 19, 2001, Yang Bin finally brought "Eurasian Agriculture" to the Hong Kong capital market, successfully raising 700 million Hong Kong dollars, making it the big winner of that year's listing in Hong Kong. Yang Bin's 72.3% stake in Eurasian Agriculture was valued at nearly 1.8 billion Hong Kong dollars.
But for this, Yang Bin also aged a lot. He almost spent all his time working. The pace of life also accelerated, with people looking for donations, journalists, and foreign investors constantly coming to see him or calling him every day. He smoked continuously, complaining of feeling very tired. Those who had seen him all said that Yang Bin looked much older, not like a 38-year-old.
Jinzhou Prison
What is shocking is that even in prison, Yang Bin could not rest and continued to use his business acumen.
"If you have connections, find someone to write a note, then fax the note to the prison for Yang Bin's approval. With Yang Bin's signature, you can buy a house," according to a buyer at the time, even though Yang Bin was in prison, he was still remotely selling real estate. And many people came to buy houses; without connections and channels, they couldn't buy anything.
The prison was only 20 kilometers away from Dutch Village, and it was rumored that Yang Bin almost returned to Dutch Village every week under the guise of "medical parole" to handle company affairs. Usually, on every Thursday or Saturday, Yang Bin would drive his extended Mercedes from the prison back to Dutch Village for a visit. In addition, Yang Bin also helped set up the "Prison Industrial Park" and cooperated with the prison on many projects, including plastic steel door and window factories, color steel factories, and agricultural greenhouse projects.
As a result, Yang Bin enjoyed the treatment of a "senior prisoner." According to an informed source, Yang Bin was specifically managed by a deputy director. He used to smoke 4 packs a day, but now only one pack, a total of 30 packs a month. The prison doctor took care of his health, and his family visited him three times a week, bringing him his favorite braised pork. The staff from the Dutch Embassy in China also visited him every month and brought him things he needed.
Upgrade the scam, transform into blockchain after release
In traditional business operations, Yang Bin quickly raised funds and expanded his business territory through loans and listings. In the new era of cryptocurrency, he once again demonstrated his forward-thinking business acumen.
After 14 years of prison life, Yang Bin did not disappear. With the support of several real estate friends, he started a flower town in Yunnan. He set his WeChat profile picture as the iconic windmill of Dutch Village. On the construction site in the southwest, he often looked back to the northeast, reminiscing about his experiment in the Sinuiju Special Zone.
The times had left him behind, but he did not abandon his forward-thinking business acumen. He quickly seized the trend of blockchain and cryptocurrency.
In 2021, Yang Bin successively operated two blockchain projects, "Marscoin" and "A&A Blockchain Innovation (Mercury Chain)." He began a new round of fundraising under the guise of the blockchain boom. These projects seemed to rely on financial innovation but were actually engaging in illegal fundraising and pyramid schemes under the banner of "blockchain."
The operation of Marscoin leveraged the popularity of the world's richest man, Elon Musk. Yang Bin named this cryptocurrency "Marscoin" to attract investors interested in Musk and the blockchain field. To expand his influence, Yang Bin held a series of high-profile meetings, including events in Shenzhen, Shanghai, Beijing, and other places. To create momentum, Yang Bin invited actor William Chan to speak and claimed that 250,000 people participated online, with over 600 nodes interacting offline, and the live broadcast had a viewership of up to 1.73 million people.
The operating model of Marscoin appeared to involve mining cryptocurrency through mining machines, but it was actually a disguised pyramid scheme. Users obtained virtual "Mars Keys" through registration and then activated more mining machines by promoting friends to mine. The mining machines were divided into three levels: 300U, 1000U, and 3000U, each corresponding to different storage multiples and daily interest returns, with annual returns touted as high as 3 times.
Marscoin model
The operation of Mars Energy set up a multi-level distribution system, with the first-generation referrer receiving a 5% commission, the second generation 3%, and the third generation 2%, attracting investors through a combination of dynamic and static income. However, the withdrawal function was never opened, meaning that investors could not truly receive profits and could only maintain the operation of the fund chain by continuously recruiting new people.
Marscoin had too many flaws. First, the grand meeting had many technical issues, with technical problems occurring frequently during the event, and the celebrities mentioned during the promotion phase did not show up, and even the so-called blessing videos could not be played, making it seem very hasty. Not only was the event disorganized, but the provided food was also criticized by participants, "Red wine costs only a dozen yuan per bottle and is limited per table."
In addition to Yang Bin's not-so-good reputation in China, after making a fortune with Marscoin, he fled. Using the same old method, he arrived in Singapore with a social visit pass and shifted his target audience from China to Singapore, establishing the "A&A Blockchain Innovation" company.
As usual, the first step in setting up a company was to create momentum. However, Yang Bin's cleverness lay in his ability to make different strategic adjustments for different groups. When promoting Marscoin in China, he organized a grand meeting, but in Singapore, he chose to find charitable organizations and shelters, invited a pastor from Singapore, and donated 100,000 Singapore dollars in the name of "A&A Blockchain Innovation."
Yang Bin donates 100,000 SGD to the National Healthcare Group (NHCS)
It is said that Yang Bin set up an exhibition hall in a former Country Garden Forest City sales office in Singapore, using 4U-8 card 1060s graphics card mining machines for display, and invited uncles and aunts in Singapore to invest in hardware mining ETH. At that time, the price of Ethereum was about 1600 USD.
From May 20, 2021, to February 15, 2022, A&A provided a chain mining plan to local investors, promising them a fixed daily return rate of 0.5%, which would come from mining cryptocurrency. In the marketing materials provided to investors, A&A claimed to have reached an agreement with Yunnan Shunai Yunxun Investment Holdings Co., Ltd., to acquire 70% ownership of 300,000 mining machines in Yunnan, China.
Yang Bin's Speech
It is claimed that these mining machines can mine cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum and generate profits in this way. In fact, there is no such agreement, and A&A operates a currency circulation plan, using later investors' funds to pay returns to early investors.
Under Yang Bin's instructions, the company's CTO, Wang Xinghong, developed an application that investors could use to purchase tokens to invest in the mining plan and monitor their daily returns. However, the application is actually a centralized "black box" software, and system administrators can input random numbers to display false returns.
Left: Yang Bin; Right: CTO Wang Bin
According to the information, while operating the mining plan, Yang Bin also launched a cryptocurrency exchange platform called "AAEX," claiming to provide a variety of cryptocurrency trading services.
As time passed, A&A's scam gradually came to light. In August 2023, Yang Bin and three other executives of A&A were charged with conspiracy to commit fraud in Singapore, involving an amount exceeding 1.8 million USD. Despite being 60 years old and still having a keen business sense, Yang Bin's scam tactics were up-to-date, but he was ultimately sentenced to six years in prison by the Singapore prison, including eight charges of conspiracy, participation in a fraud scheme, and operating without a valid work permit.
"I am the adopted son of Mr. Kim Jong-il": The network behind Yang Bin
Only the poor are obsessed with technology. The lower the person, the worse their ability to handle interpersonal relationships. The higher you go, the more you will find that people are not always researching things, but often researching people. Yang Bin's "trump card" is his network of people, which has become the key to the rapid rise of his business empire.
Looking back, Dutch Village, from the beginning, was a project that received "special care." It became a key project in Liaoning Province, receiving large-scale land allocation, low-interest loans, and other government preferential policies. There were even reports claiming to have seen five teams of labor reform prisoners rigorously organized to dig waterways underground in Dutch Village.
During Yang Bin's trial and judicial investigation, dozens of people from the Liaoning Provincial Department of Land and Resources and the Shenyang Yuhong Land Bureau were questioned by the public security organs about their involvement in the Dutch Village real estate case. Yang Bin's indictment clearly stated that he obtained over 3 million RMB through improper means for a piece of arable land and used connections to modify government documents during loan processing. These all involved bribery.
These connections helped Yang Bin create his business empire and become the richest man. However, what goes up must come down. Just as Yang Bin was planning to take the tourism project in Dutch Village to be listed on the Nasdaq in the United States, the political background in Shenyang quietly changed. The most famous "Mu Ma corruption" case in Shenyang began to be investigated, with over 100 people involved, including one deputy provincial-level official and four deputy city-level officials, with 17 "top leaders" in the party and government. The situation in Shenyang changed drastically. At the same time, the Shenyang city government began a large-scale investigation into land tax issues, and Eurasian Dutch Village was required to sign contracts and pay taxes. Yang Bin did not pay that money.
According to a former colleague of Yang Bin, Yang Bin had sought meetings with the new provincial and municipal leaders several times, but was politely refused. "Although we met later, the other party was enthusiastic, but it was all business, and they no longer supported him as openly as before," the colleague said. With widespread media questioning of Yang Bin and Dutch Village, his image in the capital market deteriorated.
But who is Yang Bin? "Yang Bin always surprises people with one unexpected thing after another," people around Yang Bin said. The carefully planned "scam" began to be noticed, and Yang Bin mysteriously disappeared for two months after losing the shelter of the domestic political situation. Some said he had fled, some said he was sick, and some said he was in North Korea or Japan.
However, two months later, when Yang Bin reappeared in the public eye, he miraculously found a new backer and a new "umbrella" across the Yalu River— the North Korean government. He even miraculously transformed into the "adopted son of Kim Jong-il" and the leader of the North Korean Special Zone.
Yang Bin's connection with North Korea probably began in 2001. That year, Kim Jong-il visited China. During a visit to the Sunqiao Modern Agricultural Development Zone in Shanghai, he showed great interest in the flowers and vegetables in the glass greenhouse, and Yang Bin, as the host, spoke eloquently.
After Kim Jong-il returned to North Korea, he summoned Yang Bin, and Yang Bin quickly seized this opportunity. While Dutch Village was struggling for funds, Yang Bin began to show his generosity to the North Korean government. It was rumored that Yang Bin donated over 100 million USD to North Korea, but Yang Bin himself said he provided "unconditional assistance of over 20 million USD."
Starting in 2002, on one of the best pieces of land in North Korea, Yang Bin built a glass greenhouse in front of the mausoleum of Kim Il-sung at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun. "I want my father's spirit in heaven to see the progress we have made in agriculture," Kim Jong-il said.
In North Korea, Yang Bin, who frequently came and went, was like an ambassador. With the increasingly close relationship with North Korea, Yang Bin began his own "political career." On September 24, 2002, North Korea's number two figure, Kim Yong-nam, appointed Yang Bin as the special governor of the Sinuiju Special Administrative Region, a position said to be equivalent to a deputy prime minister in North Korea. "From the day I took office as the special governor of Sinuiju, I was no longer a businessman, but a politician," Yang Bin said.
Sinuiju is one of the largest cities in North Korea, a "special administrative region" with independent judicial and economic systems, somewhat similar to Hong Kong in China, separated from Dandong, China, by the Friendship Bridge. In some interviews afterward, Yang Bin recalled this experience, and he always referred to himself as a "king." "Hong Kong's special administrative region will not change for 100 years, and North Korea's special administrative region will never change. If this is not a king, what is it?" Yang Bin said.
Kim Yong-nam appoints Yang Bin
After holding a press conference in Dutch Village, Yang Bin began his speech again: "I was an orphan from a young age, and the great General Kim Jong-il entrusted me with a great responsibility. Under the General's great care, I will repay him with my life." Yang Bin even directly told the media, "I am the adopted son of Mr. Kim Jong-il."
It is said that Yang Bin did have a very close relationship with Kim Jong-il. After Yang Bin was arrested, the North Korean government sent representatives to Beijing for consultations. It is clear that Yang Bin is very good at maintaining a network of relationships. While in Dutch Village, even though his experiences had a fictional element, his friends all said that Yang Bin was good at making friends, warm and generous, knew many people, and was a pretty good friend. In this respect, everyone had a pretty good opinion of him.
Arrogant and self-deprecating, the tragic "dark horse richest man"
However, those closer to him knew that after becoming wealthy, Yang Bin's personality was quite eccentric, like a parvenu, often having temper tantrums and frequently becoming hysterical, even getting into arguments with other prisoners in the prison.
Yang Bin's arrogance and confidence reached its peak in 2001— that year, his company Eurasian Agriculture successfully listed in Hong Kong. "In the months after the listing, Yang Bin was full of confidence. He felt that he wasn't really working unless he made millions every day," recalled an employee of Dutch Village. Yang Bin's travel arrangements were also eye-catching, with several luxury Mercedes cars leading the way every time he went out.
Yang Bin had a very high opinion of his wealth and status, even a bit conceited. In 2001, he ranked second on the Forbes list of mainland Chinese entrepreneurs with a net worth of 900 million USD. Yang Bin was dismissive of this, feeling that Forbes had underestimated his actual net worth. In the Hurun Rich List, he was described as the "richest man in China," and many media outlets also fueled the fire, calling him the real richest man. Yang Bin was very satisfied with this.
His arrogance was not only evident in flaunting his wealth but also in his daily decision-making. Once, when inspecting a building in Dutch Village, he deemed it not grand enough and ordered it to be demolished and rebuilt on the spot. When his subordinates reminded him that the building cost over 20 million RMB, Yang Bin disdainfully responded, "Even if it costs over 20 million, it will still be demolished!"
However, just as Yang Bin was basking in the glow of success, his arrogance and pride also sowed fatal hazards for him. In 2002, Yang Bin's business empire began to crumble. But even during the legal trial, Yang Bin's pride and arrogance were on full display.
Faced with the legal trial, Yang Bin was quite dissatisfied. "I am the special governor of North Korea, and you treat me like this?" "You woke me up from my bed and brought me here without explaining anything!" Faced with the verdict of six charges, Yang Bin became emotional in court, accusing it of being a "political persecution" and openly stating that he would appeal: "Appeal! Of course, I will appeal." "Where is justice in the world?" After being taken away, despite the advice of the court police, Yang Bin turned back to the reporters and said, "You are Hong Kong journalists, Dutch Village will not fall, there should be justice in the world." The scene was chaotic for a while.
What shocked the reporters at the time was that when he met with his aunts later, Yang Bin threw money around, saying, "Each of you, take 1 million, go live your retirement," and he even said on the spot, "Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years and became president when he came out. I was imprisoned for 18 years, came out at 58, and can still become president."
In fact, Yang Bin's arrogance was also a cover for his inner inferiority. Those who knew Yang Bin knew that he had an extreme inferiority complex. As an orphan from a poor background, Yang Bin's childhood was full of hardships. Therefore, after achieving success, he became extremely arrogant and conceited, and his extreme personality and personality split were very apparent.
At press conferences and trials, these were the highest and lowest moments of Yang Bin, narrating his legendary life story, which were important parts of this "dark horse" billionaire's story. Although he liked to promote himself and exaggerate, from some detailed descriptions, Yang Bin's tragic experiences were mostly true.
At the age of 5, Yang Bin's father passed away, and after his young mother remarried, Yang Bin became an orphan. His grandmother, who sold tea, saved every penny to raise him. Starting from elementary school, Yang Bin relied on reduced tuition to study. At that time, what Yang Bin thought about the most was earning more money when he grew up to buy delicious food for his grandmother.
When he was 8 years old, Yang Bin found his birth mother, followed her for an hour, but she turned around and slapped him, threw 5 RMB on the ground, and when Yang Bin picked it up and brought it home, he was slapped by his grandmother and scolded, "You are not capable, why don't you grow up and earn money for yourself?"
There are many more stories like this. When he was young, the phrase Yang Bin feared the most was that he was a child without parents. Every time he heard this, Yang Bin would feel very sad. Extreme poverty made Yang Bin vow to become successful.
These experiences laid the foundation for Yang Bin's life, and his arrogance and inferiority after becoming famous were rooted in his childhood poverty and struggles, ideals, and loneliness.
"Last night's celebration at Wulihe, did you see it? We sponsored it." "Just now, Yang Yuying came to my office, did you see it?" Compared to wealth, the respect and power Yang Bin once gained were more able to cover up his deep inner unease, satisfying the compensation for his inner inferiority.
Someone once asked him why he would spare no effort to build a 6,000-acre agricultural estate. His answer was, "In Leiden, the city where I lived in the Netherlands, the annual income of a farmer's family is 250,000 USD. In China, calling someone a farmer means two things: one is rural, the other is poor. But in the Netherlands, farmers are either the bourgeoisie or very wealthy. Why are Chinese farmers so poor? If Chinese farmers were as wealthy as Dutch farmers, how great would that be!"
Clearly, his poor farmer background was a hurdle he couldn't get over. It shaped his relentless pursuit of wealth and success and led him into a dual contradiction of arrogance and inferiority after becoming famous. On the pedestal of the sculpture at the Dutch Village train station, Yang Bin engraved the famous saying, "The river changes course every thirty years."
On the top layer of Yang Bin's desk, he kept his "achievements" newspapers and promotional materials, which he would personally bring out to share with visiting journalists. "For us entrepreneurs, making money is not the most important thing. The happiest thing is to see the things we have created slowly come to life." In this material, Yang Bin deliberately portrayed himself as a legendary figure who rose from nothing, from poverty to success. Behind this, it reflected his deep-seated inferiority and strong desire for external recognition.
At first sight, most people's first reaction to Yang Bin was "very dark." Yang Bin's dark skin and face seemed to be soaked in a layer of soot. Yet, Yang Bin loved to wear white clothes, white shirts, white T-shirts, white pants, and even white shoes. This seemed to become a symbol of his contradictions. Once hailed as a god in the capital market, he eventually became a prisoner twice.
His mythical story, in the end, was just a lament of a gray character. In Yang Bin's life trajectory, wealth, status, and honor were like fleeting clouds. Just as he said himself, "The river changes course every thirty years." After the splendor of the east bank, he eventually welcomed the desolation and loneliness of the west bank.
References:
- "Yang Bin Investigation: The Rise and Fall of China's Dark Horse Richest Man," Wang Yude;
- "The Man Yang Bin," Business Weekly Magazine;
- "Top Ten MLM Schemes: Marscoin," Ethereum Classic;
- "Four Men Accused of Conspiring to Cheat and Operating a Business Providing Digital Payment Tokens Without a License," Singapore Ministry of Public Affairs;
- "2002 Person of the Year: Yang Bin—Suddenly a Billionaire, Suddenly a Prisoner," Southern Net;
- "The Secret of Dutch Village Not Falling for 6 Years," Economic Observer.
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