The Chinese tycoon who plans to throw a lavish Central Park feast for New York’s homeless got to meet some of them on Tuesday — then found out the hard way that not everyone wants his money.
As recycling kingpin Chen Guangbiao toured the neighborhood around Tribeca’s New York City Rescue Mission, he whipped out a $100 bill and tried to hand it to a man on Canal Street.
But, like any New Yorker approached by a clueless smiling tourist, the man just put his head down and kept walking.
The snub didn’t ruin Chen’s good mood, which got a boost as he crooned the sappy goodwill anthem “We Are The World” with a hobo.
The important thing to me is not the money I’m donating, but to have people take notice of the plight of poor people.
- Chen Guangbiao
“The important thing to me is not the money I’m donating, but to have people take notice of the plight of poor people,” Chen said through a translator. “This, for me, is a journey of gratitude, not a journey of charity.”
The refuse baron — who is worth $740 million, according to Forbes — wants to lavish his largesse on New York’s poor to show Americans that wealthy Chinese aren’t just greedy robber barons.
He also hopes his good deeds will inspire New Yorkers to reach into their own pockets.
“One point is to stimulate people here and around the world to help poor people,” Chen said.
Chen last week took out a full-page New York Times ad to announce his plans to host an elegant, three-course lunch for 250 homeless people at the Loeb Boathouse in Central Park.
He will hand each guest $300 in cash when they leave.
Chen said he will serenade guests with another rendition of “We Are the World,” the 1985 anti-hunger fundraising song.
He was able to hold a sort of rehearsal Tuesday when he sang the song with mission resident Antone Hills, 52, who will be at Wednesday’s fete.
“I think he’s a pretty good guy and I hope he does well for the mission here,” Hills said.
“I believe he’s helping the country and he’s also helping out the guys in the program. Maybe he can help us out so we can have a little something when we leave the program.”
Chen later crossed paths with street guitarist Derek Dasher, 33, and liked what he heard so much that he gave the busker a $100 bill.
“I came up here with a hope, a dream and a bag,” said Dasher, who moved to NYC from Florida just five days ago.“This $100 is going to help me live until I get everything straightened out. I don’t have a dime to my name other than the $100 he gave me.”
Wednesday’s park lunch will be the first of four Chen plans to hold, during which he will eventually feed 1,000 people.
He also insists he will go ahead with his plans to hand cash to the guests, even though the rescue mission doesn’t think that’s a good idea because many of the homeless diners have drug problems.
Additional reporting by David K. Li