Behind an $18 Billion Donation to a New York Charity, a Shadowy Chinese Conglomerate
Speaking to The Financial Times on Monday, he said
that Mr. Guan, and another shareholder, Bharat Bhise, who had transferred much of his stake to Mr. Guan last year, had never actually owned the shares at all, “but had just held the stake for us,” Mr. Tan told the newspaper.
Questions about Mr. Guan, who could not be reached for comment,
and the foundation have mounted since HNA disclosed on Monday the donation to the New York-based Hainan Cihang Charity Foundation, which aims to support a variety of causes including anti-poverty efforts.
Instead, HNA, in making the unusual decision to transfer such a large portion of its ownership to
an American foundation, raises questions about how it will comply with United States tax law.
“The concern was that if private foundations owned large amounts of a business, then the trustees of the foundation could become more concerned
with the interests of the business,” said Ray Madoff, a law professor at Boston College who focuses on philanthropies and taxes.
A Chinese man has transferred more than 29 percent of HNA Group of China — the
equivalent of as much as $18 billion — to a New York-based private foundation.
