Xu Ming
Xu Ming
Xu Ming (Chinese: 徐明; pinyin: Xú Míng; April 1971 – 4 December 2015) was a Chinese entrepreneur and onetime billionaire. He was the founder of the conglomerate Dalian Shide Group, and the chairman of Dalian Shide F.C., China's top football club in the 2000s. In 2005 Forbes ranked him the eighth-richest person in China, with an estimated net worth of US$1.05 billion, but his net worth declined to $690 million in 2011. The 2013 Hurun Report estimated his wealth to be around US$490 million, ranking 676th in China.Xu had close relationships with several high-ranking government officials and their families, especially the former Politburo member Bo Xilai. After Bo was implicated in a political scandal and fell from power in 2012, Xu was taken into custody, and testified in August 2013 at the trial of Bo, who was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Xu was also sent to prison, where he died in December 2015, less than a year before his scheduled release.