Talking About a Chinese Dynasty

By Matthew Forney/Beijing

In the land of Confucius, Lu Weiding carries a heavy family responsibility. His father owns a $1 billion auto-parts supplier that controls the biggest privately run firm on China's stock exchange. But while Lu Guanqiu wanted his son to succeed him, the younger Lu rejected filial obligation and spent his teens careering around rural China in jeeps and on motorcycles. When he rear-ended a dump truck, Dad finally packed him off to Singapore to study and, says Lu, "to save me from becoming a failure."

It worked. Lu, 32, is CEO of Dad's firm, Wanxiang Group. He is expected one day to take his father's position atop the board in what would be the first dynastic succession in a major Chinese firm. Wanxiang supplies the makers of most passenger cars in China and operates factories in the U.S. that sell to the Big Three automakers. Lu, who unlike many local businessmen won't speculate in things like real estate, is playing it safe: "I get enough excitement running the company. I don't need to joyride anymore." --By Matthew Forney/Beijing