Wang Jianlin was born on 24 October 1954, in Cangxi County, Guangyuan, Sichuan. His father fought for Mao Zedong’s People’s Liberation Army during the Long March (October 1934–October 1935).

At the age of 15, Wang started his 17-year service with the People’s Liberation Army, initially as a border guard before rising to become a regimental commander. In 1976, he joined the Communist Party of China. He served as deputy to the 17th National Congress.

After sixteen years in the People’s Liberation Army, Wang started working as the office administrator for the Xigang District in the city of Dalian. In 1989, he became the general manager of Xigang Residential Development. He was Head of Factory in a Jiangyin-based factory. In 1988, he started working as the Chairman for the Dalian Wanda Group. He has also been serving as Assistant to the Regional Manager, Assistant Regional Manager and Director in Jiangsu Jiangnan Water Co.

In 2011, he donated US$197 million to charitable causes, such as underwriting the restoration of an ancient temple in Nanjing. In 2014-2015 he donated US$200,000 for the restoration of the Electric Fountain in Beverly Hills, California.

His company owns 21.57 million square metres of investment property, 168 Wanda Shopping Plazas, 82 luxury hotels, 213 cinemas, 99 department stores, and 54 karaoke centres around China. The company became the world’s largest theatre owner in 2012 when it acquired AMC Theatres. He bought out U.S.-based AMC Entertainment for US$2.6 billion. He listed it on the New York Stock Exchange in December. He flew in celebrities Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Beckinsale, and John Travolta to help launch a US$8 billion mini-Hollywood in the coastal city of Qingdao in January 2014.

The previous year, Forbes ranked him the 128th richest person in the world, with US$8.6 billion. In August 2013, he was listed as the wealthiest person in China with a net worth of US$14.2 billion by Bloomberg. In September 2013, his net worth rose to US$22 billion, according to numbers of the Hurun Report.

Wanda Group acquired the landmark Edificio España building in Madrid, Spain, in March 2014 from Grupo Santander for “about a third less than the €389 million that Banco Santander paid in 2005, at the height of Spain’s construction boom”. Previously, Dalian Wanda had taken on billion-dollar hotel development projects in London and New York, as well as property projects in India.

In January 2014, he announced plans to build the world’s largest studio pavilion at Oriental Movie Metropolis which include a 10,000 square meter studio and an underwater stage.

In 2014, he acquired land at 9900 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills, California to build the American headquarters named “One Beverly Hills” of his entertainment company.

According to the Hurun Report, in 2014 he was the 25th richest person in the world with US$25 billion.

In January 2015 it was reported that he was buying a 20% stake in the Spanish football club Atlético Madrid for €45m.

Mr. Wang maintains a close relationship with the Chinese Communist Party. The New York Times reported in 2015 that relatives of high-ranking Party officials amassed a stake in the company prior to the IPO of Dalian Wanda which appreciated to over $1.1 billion when the company was listed. These relatives include Qi Qiaoqiao, the sister of Xi Jinping, as well as the daughter of Wen Jiabao.

In 2015, Bloomberg listed him as the richest person in Asia with US$9.9 billion.

In December 2015 Wang Jianlin bought 15a Kensington Palace Gardens, London, for GB£80 million. The house was previously lived in by the Ukrainian billionaire, Leonard Blavatnik, who rented it during lengthy works on the house he owns opposite.

In November 2016 Wang’s Dalian Wanda Group announced plans to acquire Dick Clark Productions for about US$1 billion, giving it the broadcasting rights to the Golden Globe Awards, the Academy of Country Music Awards, and the New Year countdown celebrations in New York. Wanda already owns Legendary Entertainment, co-producer of films such as Jurassic World, and U.S. cinema chain AMC Entertainment Holdings.

According to Forbes, in 2016 he was the richest person in Asia with US$28.7 billion.

In July 2016, Wang released his book, The Wanda Way: The managerial philosophy and values of one of China’s largest companies. The book was published globally by LID Publishing. The book includes his renowned 2013 ChinaCentral Television Voice interview, his speech and question-and-answer session to the Harvard Business School, and Wang’s business philosophy on Wanda’s real estate, resort, and movie units.

In 2016, Wang picked a fight with Disney by declaring that he wants to make sure the Magic Kingdom doesn’t make any money in China.

A year later, Forbes ranked him 18th in its 2017 World’s Billionaires list, making him the richest man in China with a net worth of US$31.3 billion. However, on May 14, Jack Ma overtook Wang Jianlin as the richest man in China, thanks to Ma’s Alibaba Group’s increases in stock prices.

In 2020, Wang tumbled down the rich list as his real estate empire and movie theatre chains both sharply declined in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic. Forbes ranked him outside the top 10 in its 2020 list of Richest Chinese Billionaires with an estimated net worth of $14 billion.