When two real estate tycoons make preparations to start rival television shows within weeks of fighting each other in court, it has all the looks of an ego-driven catfight.
That perception is only reinforced when the tycoons are Donald Trump, New York’s brashest developer, and Vincent Lo, a Hong Kong developer who has made a fortune in Shanghai with a flashy formula worthy of Trump.
But both developers are playing down their rivalry as they prepare to introduce similar-sounding reality shows on Chinese television and as they continue litigating a $1 billion dispute over the proceeds from a once-close property partnership on Manhattan’s West Side.
Indeed, Trump has become so solicitous as to suggest that Lo should be giving himself a larger role in his show – perhaps a role as big as Trump plays in his show, “The Apprentice.” Word that a Chinese edition of that program was under development first surfaced last week in The South China Morning Post.
“He should be on the show,” Trump said of Lo in a telephone interview. “I think he’d do very well if he were on the show.”
This summer, Lo has been preparing a show called “Wise Man Takes All,” in which contestants reportedly will compete to set up their own businesses, with the results judged by a panel of judges, occasionally including Lo himself. Lo is cagey about the details, however, and he is ducking questions about any rivalry with Trump.
“What I can say about this project is that it is designed to foster healthy competition and entrepreneurship among the younger generation in the Chinese mainland, and that is why my company, Shui On Land, has decided to sponsor it,” Lo said in a terse written statement. “This is in line with our longstanding commitment to the development of China, where we have a proven track record and have built relationships for more than 20 years.”
Trump and Mark Burnett Productions, which produces “The Apprentice,” are in talks with Pan Shiyi, Beijing’s best-known developer, to serve as host of the Chinese version.
Soho China, the couple’s development company, specializes in building luxurious modern apartment towers in central Beijing, courting designers, celebrities and the media. That has given their buildings a cachet similar to some of Trump’s properties – although the personal lives of Pan, 41, and Zhang, 39, have not attracted the same kind of notoriety.
Indeed, the question is whether Pan, a low-key, soft-spoken man, understands what a show like “The Apprentice” will entail. Zhang said that the couple can already get “The Apprentice” in English on their television in Beijing, but were so busy that they had never seen an episode.
“I only know it’s a popular TV show, but I never watch TV,” except the occasional news show, she said. “He has never even watched the show – and in fact today, he said to me, ‘Who is Mark Burnett?’ and I said, ‘I don’t know.”‘