Ultra-wealthy Chinese, fascinated by Elon Musk's pronatalist theories, are outsourcing their dynastic ambitions to California. By making extensive use of surrogates and elite sperm banks, they seek to establish veritable lines of heirs, sometimes numbering in the hundreds. This industry, revealed by the Wall Street Journal , defies Chinese law and raises serious accusations of exploitation and eugenics.
Circumventing the family restrictions imposed by Beijing
In China, surrogacy is strictly prohibited, and couples are limited to three children. These restrictions, however, do not deter some tycoons, who turn to Californian clinics. There, they purchase so-called "premium" sperm—from top athletes or donors with high IQs—for approximately $2,500 per sample, in order to inseminate American surrogate mothers and produce children born as US citizens. Xu Bo, founder of Duoyi Network, already claims to have over 100 children and reportedly aims to have at least 20 sons to ensure the continuity of his video game empire.
Explosion of the market for selected gametes
Although California law theoretically limits the number of children per donor to 25, this rule is frequently circumvented for wealthy clients. Specialists like Nathan Zhang of IVF USA speak of mass orders aimed at creating "genetically superior dynasties," with systematic use of preimplantation genetic diagnosis to select for certain traits. Billionaire Wang Huiwu is said to have conceived 10 daughters using sperm from models, driven by a clear desire for alliances and prestige.
Legal tensions in Los Angeles
Judge Amy Pellman has publicly expressed concern: in 2023, Xu Bo reportedly appeared via videoconference in a dozen cases related to parental recognition, all while residing in China. In Irvine, nannies are raising his infants while he awaits visas. His remarks about the supposed "superiority" of boys have caused outrage, even in the courts. Faced with these practices, Beijing has announced stricter sanctions against surrogacy abroad, but this has had little real impact on these wealthy elites.
Ethical excesses: potential incest and the commodification of life
The lack of clear traceability raises the risk of incestuous relationships between half-siblings unaware of their kinship. The often opaque payment arrangements for surrogate mothers are also a cause for concern. In the United States, some senators are calling for a ban on surrogacy for Chinese nationals, even though applications have quadrupled since 2014. Critics denounce this as blatant eugenics, where children become assets used to further dynastic strategies.
Towards international regulation?
Often absent from their children's daily lives, these fathers invest colossal sums in building genetic lines. Between China's stricter regulations and disparities in American legislation, a legal vacuum remains. A growing number of voices are calling for global regulation and strict traceability of donors to curb this "baby business" with its worrying excesses.
In short, behind these bespoke lineage schemes lies a disturbing divide between the power of money and the limits of the law. By transforming procreation into an investment strategy and children into instruments of inheritance or prestige, these practices directly challenge the ethical values that underpin our societies. The case also reveals the inability of national legal frameworks to regulate globalized reproductive flows, where the wealthiest navigate the laws as they see fit.
