Chinese Billionaires Using US Surrogates To Expand Families: Report

Chinese billionaires are turning to US-based surrogates to father children, leading to questions about citizenship laws and the largely unregulated surrogacy industry in the United States.

At a Los Angeles family court, clerks noticed a striking pattern while reviewing routine surrogacy petitions. The same name repeatedly appeared. Xu Bo, a Chinese videogame executive, was seeking parental rights for at least four unborn children, while court records indicated he had already fathered or was in the process of fathering at least eight more, all through surrogates, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.

When Judge Amy Pellman summoned Xu for a hearing in 2023, he appeared on video from China, speaking through an interpreter. Xu reportedly told the court he aimed to have “20 or so US-born children through surrogacy." His preference was boys, because they're superior to girls, to one day take over his business, reported WSJ. Many of his children were being cared for by nannies in Irvine, California, as they awaited travel documents.

The judge refused Xu's petition for parental rights. Attendees of the hearing said that while surrogacy was normally meant to help people start families, Xu's plans did not resemble traditional parenting.

Xu has not been publicly photographed for nearly a decade. A representative of his company, Duoyi Network, told WSJ in an email that “much of what you described is untrue.”

The case highlights a trend of Chinese elites using US surrogates to expand their families, often without ever visiting America. Some wealthy Chinese parents reportedly spend millions on US-based surrogates to create large families.

Nathan Zhang, CEO of IVF USA, said that while earlier clients sought to bypass China's one-child policy, new wealthier parents now aim to commission dozens, or even hundreds, of US-born children with the goal of “forging an unstoppable family dynasty.” Zhang added that Elon Musk is seen as a “role model now,” referencing the Tesla CEO's 14 known children.

Other Chinese billionaires have used surrogacy to produce children with specific intentions. Wang Huiwu, a Sichuan-based education executive, reportedly hired US models and other egg donors to have 10 daughters, with the goal of arranging strategic marriages in the future. The practice has drawn criticism in China, where surrogacy is banned domestically, but enforcement against citizens who go abroad remains limited.

According to WSJ, experts say the surrogacy market has become highly sophisticated. Clinics, agencies, legal firms and nanny services in the US facilitate the process, sometimes enabling parents to receive children without ever entering the country, at a cost of up to $200,000 per child. The issue also involves US citizenship laws, as children born on American soil automatically gain citizenship under the 14th Amendment.

Xu has publicly expressed his ambitions online. Accounts linked to him have fantasised about his children marrying Elon Musk's offspring.

Xu's ex-girlfriend, Tang Jing, has alleged on Weibo that he has 300 children living across multiple countries. Duoyi Network responded that the figure was exaggerated, stating that Xu has “only a little over 100” children born through surrogacy in the United States.

The case of Chinese elites shows how international surrogacy raises complex legal, ethical and social issues.