Cecil Sze-Tsung Chao is no ordinary Hong Kong billionaire property tycoon. He is more like what you would get if you crossed Donald Trump, Hugh Hefner and a Chinese munchkin. Now 76 years old, he has famously remained a bachelor his entire life, more so that he could bed “10,000 women,” by his own estimate, during those years. The union of his loins with one of those multitudes yielded a lovely young girl, Gigi, now 33 years old (top right, with elf-dog), As beautiful and smart as she is (she holds an architecture degree from the University of Manchester, in the UK), she has one clear flaw in her father’s eyes. She (like he) seems to prefer the company of women. Gigi is a declared lesbian. Last week, she announced in Beijing that she had married her seven-year girlfriend, Sean Eav (pictured with Gigi), in a civil union in France.
This situation proved intolerable to Cecil Chao. He has responded assertively, in perhaps the only way that he knows how – by throwing money at his problem. Lots of it - HK$500 million, or almost US$65 million, in fact. The money is set up as a reward for any man from anywhere who can win Gigi’s hand in marriage and set her “straight". This may be the first time that Mr. Chao is using his money to seek the services of a man, but who knows.
Not surprisingly, the announcement has been met with a huge response. Candidates have flooded Gigi’s Facebook and Twitter accounts with over 1,500 requests. Suitors have ranged from the presumably straight-and-narrow earnest types to those simply taking a flyer. There is a Frenchman who has declared himself “soft as a woman.” An internet user proposes bringing along “a gorgeous Brazilian model” to accompany him. There is a gay American, who obviously is not very good at understanding the job requirements.
Gigi has responded with much eyeball rolling and a plea for a return to privacy and sanity. With a dad like that, I presume that she knows it’s just wishful thinking.
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