Chapter 1458: Stirring up a hornet's nest
While others were clamoring, Xiao Peng strolled down the Champs-Élysées as if nothing had happened, Hua Chong by his side. Bruch and Kasin had gone shopping with Jelena and the others, while Xiao Peng was walking and talking on the phone. When he hung up, his expression was a complex one.
Seeing this, Hua Chong hurriedly asked, "Boss, is this difficult to resolve?"
Xiao Peng's expression became even more complicated after hearing this: "It's solved, but I can't be happy at all!"
He didn't initially consider the establishment of this fund a big deal. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision. He had originally told Doha he was planning to set up a 100 million dollar fund just for fun, but then changed his mind and raised the amount to 500 million. Fabian and Pascal then chipped in another 500 million, bringing the fund to 1 billion.
After all, Swan and Zhang Qikun are in charge of the operation, so it would be meaningless if they did less. On the one hand, so much money was given out for charity, and on the other hand, it was for them to invest and make profits.
Who says charitable foundations don't make money? To maintain their operations, charitable foundations don't simply accept public donations; they also make various investments. While profits from investments must be reinvested into the fund pool, operating the fund requires expenses, right? So, how much to give is entirely up to the foundation itself.
Xiao Peng insisted on giving Marlene 500 million euros in "public relations fees" and no one could stop him!
Why do wealthy people so desperately give to charity? It's a way to gain both fame and fortune! There are many ways to be philanthropic!
But other people's charity work was fine, but Xiao Peng's charity this time caused trouble.
Because the subsequent impact was so great, the various demonstrations naturally triggered a series of criminal activities such as "zero-dollar shopping". The whole of Paris was once again in chaos.
French politicians, who are good at putting labels on others, naturally put the label of "dividing France" on Xiao Peng this time and demanded that Xiao Peng be sanctioned and his foundation be abolished.
Originally, Xiao Peng planned to return to the Netherlands directly, but because of this incident, he stayed here for a few days.
Yu Beier just called him and told him that the matter has been resolved.
Yu Beier is now also one of the "honorary chairmen" of the foundation, and he has done his best in this matter.
But when Xiao Peng knew how this matter was resolved, he felt really complicated.
Xiao Peng curses domestic public intellectuals every day, but he didn't expect that this time it was the public intellectuals who helped him.
Here's what happened: When word of Xiao Peng establishing this fund in Paris spread to China, the online chatter there became even more heated than in France! In the mouths of some, Xiao Peng has become synonymous with a "traitor."
Xiao Peng's official reason for establishing this charitable foundation was to protect and improve the living environment of the Chinese in Paris. Little did they know that Xiao Peng did this for a series of benefits, including tax cuts, profit, and improved social status.
Some people then said, "They've all left Daxia. They're no longer Daxia citizens, they're French. Why are you protecting them? Why not give that money back to China?" Then someone else said, "You're being narrow-minded. Do you know how much our compatriots overseas have contributed?" Besides, Xiao Peng can spend his own money however he wants. Why are you telling him what to do? If you have the guts, why don't you set up a fund like this in China? Don't you see how much money Xiao Peng has donated back home?"
In the end, the two sides quarreled in a mess.
A public intellectual then posted a lengthy Weibo post outlining Xiao Peng's rise to fame. Combining this with Xiao Peng's donation of the "Calypso" to the Deep Sea Base, his recent absence from livestreams to raise funds for the base, his attendance at the "Chaumet" cocktail party, and his personal invitations to French high society, the author concluded that Xiao Peng was preparing to take French citizenship! He also called for the "Xiao Museum" to be shut down domestically to prevent the outflow of cultural relics.
His long Weibo post really attracted countless reposts, and even many people who supported Xiao Peng began to have doubts.
Their suspicion was not without reason. After all, there really were such unscrupulous rich people in Daxia who made money at home and spent money abroad. They were stingy with donations at home, but made large donations abroad.
For example, Harvard was founded nearly 400 years ago, and the largest donation it received came from the people of Daxia.
In 2014, Ronnie Chan, chairman of the real estate company Hang Lung Group, donated $350 million to Harvard. Harvard University, in gratitude, named its School of Public Health after his father.
Ronnie Chan's response to the matter was, "We donated the money to Harvard not only to help Harvard, nor to help the Americans, but to help all of humanity cope with the health crisis. Furthermore, donating to American universities is a simpler process, unlike doing good deeds in China, which only brings trouble."
There's also the IT tycoon who distributes large-scale online games like "Legend" and has donated over a billion dollars to Caltech. He said, "It's not my fault that Daxia Science is short of money. Besides, domestic universities are all very wealthy. How can you blame me for not donating money to wealthy universities?"
Another wealthy couple, the Pans, who are in real estate, are not much behind the two above. Their cumulative donations to Harvard and Yale have reached 600 million US dollars.
These people generally earn money domestically and donate abroad, but what about Xiao Peng? He earns money abroad and donates domestically, not to mention his "Xiao Pavilion." While he has a fund for his disciples, it's far less than what's been donated domestically. This sudden outpouring of billions, intended to protect overseas Chinese and improve public safety in Paris, naturally sparked suspicion. A group of charitable influencers even went to the gates of "Xiao Pavilion" to capitalize on the hype, displaying slogans like "People can leave, but things must remain" and "Boycott Xiao Pavilion, prevent capital outflow."
They couldn't boycott anything else. After all, in China, Xiao Peng's only business project was "Xiaoguan".
The relevant domestic departments are also helpless about this.
How much does the Xiao Pavilion make in a year? Doesn't it cost money to operate, manage, and maintain such a large facility? The Xiao Pavilion even receives annual state subsidies! They can't make a billion euros from ticket sales alone in a hundred years!
The incident reached a climax when an internet celebrity rushed into the "Xiao Pavilion" while live streaming, snatched an Ottoman-style silver-plated ox-horn wine glass, and then claimed that he would donate it to the "Forbidden City" - he was directly sued by Shao Feng for "robbery". Now the evidence is conclusive, even if the internet celebrity cried and apologized every day, it would be useless.
In Xiao Peng's words: You should apologize, but who says I have to forgive you?
That's how things finally quieted down at Xiaoguan. But people were still talking about it, and it only confirmed that Xiao Peng was going to change his nationality.
This news also reached France, which saved Xiao Peng from his previous frustration.
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