Many believe that Chou’s connection with music began with his mother who was a secondary school music teacher. After clocking her son’s early musical interest, Chou received piano lessons from the age of four. He later received cello lessons and also developed a passion for music theory.

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Pop music managed to find a spot in his heart and Chou began to compose his own songs, combining both Chinese and Western music styles. By inventively fusing pop, rock and R&B he was credited with popularising zhongguofeng (meaning Chinese style).

Big bucks

Over 20 years, Chou, now aged 41, has sold more than 30 million albums, mounted several lucrative world tours and even crossed over to act in Hollywood movies – including his role as Kato in 2011’s The Green Hornet reboot and appeared alongside Daniel Radcliffe in Now You See Me 2 (2016).

So it was no surprise when it was reported this year that he has a net worth of 1 billion yuan (US$143 million) as of 2020. His wealth mostly came from his music but product endorsements and branding also helped.

House and home

With his affluence, Chou knows how to pamper himself as well as his family. He currently lives in a mansion at the highest floor of a building in the Daan district of Taipei. Aside from the prime location, it is estimated that his house was priced at US$28 million.

Motoring fast

Chou is also a man who enjoys automobiles and he owes about 20 different cars. His collection ranges from classic motors to modern luxurious sports cars. His most recent purchase is a McLaren Senna, one of only 500 made, which cost a staggering 15 million yuan (US$2 million).

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His love for professional gaming and magic

Many had to take a second glance when, in 2016, Chou was reported to have purchased a professional League of Legends (LOL) Taiwanese gaming team, Taipei Assassins. His love for the game is known by many but some also guessed that there is more than just this simple reason for his purchase.

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After renaming the team to J Gaming, insiders noted the branding and business opportunities for Chou to promote his music and gaming products to the international LOL player base.

Another talent of his is performing magic tricks. Interestingly, he has a song that is titled Mr Magic.

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