Chinese billionaire tied to $6.5 million payment for Stanford met with Trump
BEIJING—Not long after his daughter got into Stanford University with the help of a $6.5 million payment, Chinese pharmaceutical billionaire Zhao Tao met with President Trump to promote a key Beijing foreign-policy initiative.
At the June 28, 2017, meeting in Washington, Mr. Zhao got his picture taken with President Trump alongside the First Lady. Mr. Zhao led a delegation of Chinese entrepreneurs to the event, his company said in a post on its website.
Around the time of his Washington trip, Mr. Zhao’s daughter Yusi was preparing for her freshman year at Stanford. The Zhao family paid $6.5 million to college counselor William “Rick” Singer, to help secure their daughter’s admission. It is the largest-known payment to Mr. Singer, who has admitted to masterminding the largest college-admissions cheating ring U.S law enforcement says it has prosecuted.
Yusi Zhao’s mother said in a statement through her lawyer that she thought the $6.5 million was a donation, and that she was unfamiliar with the U.S. college-admissions process.
Like many affluent Chinese, Mr. Zhao cultivated close ties with Beijing while also seeking to move in influential circles abroad and securing a top-flight foreign education for his child.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/chinese-billionaire-tied-to-dollar65-million-payment-for-stanford-met-with-trump/ar-AAAR4ZI?li=BBnb7Kz