China's Wang buys Madrid building for $358M

China’s wealthiest man, Wang Jianlin, has acquired a landmark building in Madrid for $358.6 million. Wang is atop the Forbes China Rich List with a personal fortune estimated at $15.1 billion.

Wang acquired the Edificio Espana from Grupo Santander at a discount of 33 percent from the price that the Spanish banking giant had paid for the 25-story building in 2006, Forbes reports.

Wang’s Dalian Wanda real estate company, one of the largest hotel developers in China, is said to plan to convert the building into a luxury hotel and shopping centre.

Prior to this deal, Dalian Wanda had already taken on billion dollar hotel development projects in London and New York, as well as property projects in India.

The failed redevelopment of the downtown Madrid skyscraper had become an emblem of Spain’s property crisis, Forbes writes.