Due to 186 million yuan in unpaid debts by a Wanda subsidiary, Wanda Group has been listed as an enforcement target, and Wang Jianlin, as the company's legal representative, has been restricted from high-consumption activities.

Under the "consumption restriction" order, Wang can no longer take first-class high-speed rail seats, stay in luxury hotels, or engage in expensive leisure activities like luxury travel. Of course, he also cannot use his private jet.

Considering his previous attitude of treating money as nothing, this development is quite striking.

In 2016, during an interview, Wang Jianlin said that young people wanting to become the richest were being too hasty, suggesting they should "set a small, achievable goal first, like earning 100 million yuan."

Nearly ten years later, this "small goal" remains a popular phrase.

In 2012, during a television program recording, when discussing his $2.6 billion acquisition of AMC Theatres the previous year, a guest asked if nearly $3 billion was "no big deal." Wang shook his head, saying it certainly wasn't "no big deal," but then added it could only be considered "medium significance."

Earlier, Wang Jianlin and Jack Ma, representing offline and online businesses respectively, made a bet. They wagered that if e-commerce didn't capture 50% of China's retail market share by 2022, Ma would give Wang 100 million yuan; otherwise, Wang would give Ma 100 million yuan. When asked if he would really pay if he lost, Wang replied without hesitation: "If I lose, I'll pay. It's just 100 million yuan."

Wealthy individuals made quite a few such bets back then. At the end of 2013, during a CCTV economic awards ceremony, Dong Mingzhu said she would give Lei Jun 1 billion yuan if Xiaomi's sales exceeded Gree's within five years.

Back then, billionaires including Wang Jianlin clearly didn't treat money as money. They figured they could always start over, as opportunities seemed everywhere to them.

However, this didn't mean Wanda would always be smooth sailing. The debt crisis appeared early on.

You've likely heard this urban legend: In 2017, Wanda was forced by several hundred billion yuan in debt to sell assets for survival. R&F Properties and Sunac came along, acquiring Wanda's hotels and cultural tourism projects at very low prices. The story goes that the usually refined Wang Jianlin threw a glass in frustration.

Around that time, Wang publicly stated: "No real estate market anywhere in the world can prosper for more than 50 years; generally, it peaks after 20 years."

Later, circumstances indeed changed. After cutting losses, Wanda managed a comeback through asset-light operations, while R&F Properties, which had taken advantage of Wanda's difficulties, couldn't handle its debt burden and underwent restructuring. Some said Wang Jianlin had struck lucky.

However, these twists and turns couldn't change the reality of real estate's continued decline. Xu Jiayin was imprisoned; Wang Shi left Vanke; Country Garden faced a crisis...

Previously, you'd ask how profitable real estate companies were; now you ask which ones haven't collapsed yet. The impact of young people's reluctance to buy homes has been significant enough to determine these tycoons' fates.

One year, Wang Jianlin sang "Nothing to My Name" at an annual meeting, appearing relaxed and confident, with aspirations for the future and strategic foresight for his enterprise.

So back then, he could sing about the burden of having too much money to spend, but now times have changed, and he cannot afford to ignore 180 million yuan.

Can you imagine? Someone who was China's richest person three times now has to sit in second-class seats like everyone else.

But Wang shouldn't worry too much - his son resolved his own consumption restrictions in just a few dozen days.

The latest news is that Wanda has responded, saying this issue resulted from information asymmetry. We also believe this problem will be resolved quickly.