Hong Kong billionaire doubles dowry offer to £78million for a man to marry his lesbian daughter
The dowry offered by a Hong Kong billionaire to any man who ‘can successfully court’ his lesbian daughter has been doubled to £78 million.
Cecil Chao announced a financial reward last year after his daughter, Gigi, married her same-sex partner of seven years in France. Despite having no intention of marrying a man, her tycoon father insists that she does.
The 77-year-old doubled his offer this week, telling reporters: “I would be happy to pay twice as much money to any man who can successfully court Gigi… her thinking will change in the future”.
Mr Chao has denied wanting to meddle in his daughter’s private life, instead claiming that he only wants to “coax her towards a husband, children and a more traditional family structure for when she eventually inherits the Cheuk Nang property empire.”
The billionaire caused outrage at the time, and with this new offer. Commenters have suggested that he is trying to sell his daughter, and that offering a bounty for a man to marry her is “humiliating”, because it goes against her wishes, not to mention her sexuality.
He has now claimed that his 33-year-old daughter is too young to be sure that she is a lesbian.
“I don’t mind whether he is rich or poor. The important thing is that he is generous and kind hearted,” Mr Chao was quoted as saying back when he first made the offer.
“Gigi is a very good woman with both talents and looks. She is devoted to her parents, is generous and does volunteer work,” he added.
She still does not wish to humour any of the offers she has had so far, however, telling the Times that she had received a “vomit-making” number of photographs of potential suitors, some not fully clothed.
Gigi said: “I don’t think my dad’s offering of any amount of money would be able to attract a man I would find attractive.”
