Full Name Xia Jiantong Occupation Entrepreneur, investor Children 1 | Nationality Chinese Years active 1999–present Residence Beijing, China | |
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Born 26 October 1976 (age 40) ( 1976-10-26 ) Quzhou, Zhejiang, China Alma maters Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), University of Oxford Similar Randy Lerner, Keith Wyness, Roberto Di Matteo, Jordan Amavi, Steve Bruce Profiles | ||
Chinese businessman dr tony xia talks about his takeover of aston villa cctv news cctv com engli
Tony Jiantong Xia (Chinese: 夏建统; pinyin: Xià Jiàntǒng; born 26 October 1976) is a Chinese businessman. He is currently the chairman, CEO and owner of Recon Group. In June 2016, Recon Group bought Aston Villa Football Club from American businessman Randy Lerner, with Xia becoming chairman of the club.
Contents
- Chinese businessman dr tony xia talks about his takeover of aston villa cctv news cctv com engli
- Early life and education
- Career
- Recon Group
- Aston Villa FC
- Personal life
- References
Early life and education
Xia was born in Quzhou, Zhejiang. He began school at the age of four, with his parents telling the school he was six for legal reasons. At the age of 14, he left home to attend university in Beijing. He was considered to be one of the most highly rated graduates and, aged 19, was amongst the first 25 of 1,000 selected to study abroad at Harvard (where he studied landscape design), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a five month exchange to study at Trinity College, Oxford in 1998–99.
Career
In March 1999, Xia founded design company XWHO in Boston, co-owned by his then girlfriend and one of his lecturers. The company relocated to Hangzhou, China where Xia started a planning company called Teamax, which he sold for £430 million.
Recon Group
Xia took over Chinese company Recon Group in 2004. The company is based in Beijing and Hangzhou and is the umbrella organisation for Xia's companies which operate in IT, Health and Agriculture, New Energy and Smart Transportation, Engineering and Design, financial services, and Sports, Leisure and Tourism.
Xia says he plans to invest in or buy football clubs in India, Spain, USA and Australia to create a new 'sports sector' within his portfolio.
Aston Villa F.C.
On 18 May 2016, it was announced that Recon Group had agreed to buy Aston Villa for a reported £60 million from American businessman Randy Lerner, with the club becoming part of Recon Group's Sports, Leisure and Tourism division. On 14 June 2016, the sale was completed for a reported £76 million after being approved by the Football League. Upon completion of the sale, Xia became chairman of the club.
Personal life
Xia has a home in Beijing. He has a wife, Sally, and one child. He became an Aston Villa fan after watching them at Villa Park during his time as a student at Oxford University. Xia played football at college as a striker.
Xia describes himself as a self-made millionaire. He describes his net wealth as "rather more" than a dollar billionaire, valuing some of his businesses the same as or more than Teamax which he sold for £430 million: "I own quite a lot of private businesses and I think I can sell some of them for the same amount or more."
Xia uses the English name Tony Xia.