A growing number of Chinese billionaires are turning to the United States to father dozens of children through surrogacy, according to a Wall Street Journal investigation. Videogame executive Xu Bo, who claims to have more than 100 U.S.-born children, is among the elites exploiting American surrogacy laws to build sprawling families, often relying on nannies, IVF clinics, and specialized legal services to manage the logistics.

The Journal details a rare Los Angeles court hearing in 2023, where Judge Amy Pellman reviewed petitions from Xu seeking parental rights to multiple unborn children. Xu appeared via video from China and stated his ambition to have around 20 U.S.-born boys to one day take over his business. Several of his children were being cared for by nannies in Irvine while waiting for travel documentation to China. The judge ultimately denied his petition, leaving the children in legal limbo, a move experts described as highly unusual in a largely unregulated industry.

Xu is far from alone. Other wealthy Chinese individuals, including education executive Wang Huiwu, have used U.S. surrogates and egg donors to build families numbering in the dozens. Wall Street Journal reporting highlights a sophisticated market in the U.S., where agencies, clinics, and legal firms coordinate surrogacies for international clients, sometimes without the parents ever visiting the country. Costs for a single surrogacy can reach $200,000, and some parents aim to create dynasties with dozens—or even hundreds—of children.

The trend has raised ethical and legal concerns. U.S.-born children automatically receive citizenship, prompting debate over the use of American laws to circumvent surrogacy restrictions in China, where domestic surrogacy is banned. Lawmakers, including Senator Rick Scott, have introduced legislation to restrict foreign surrogacy, citing ongoing federal investigations into Chinese-American parents with large numbers of surrogacy-born children, as reported by the Journal.

Social media posts linked to Xu show children playing outdoors and calling “Daddy,” offering a glimpse into the scope of these mega-families. While the Chinese government publicly discourages surrogacy and has criticized public figures involved, industry insiders say many wealthy citizens continue to seek U.S.-based surrogacy, driven by ambitions to expand family size or secure dynastic legacies.

The Wall Street Journal’s reporting exposes a little-known phenomenon at the intersection of wealth, reproductive technology, and international legal loopholes, highlighting how some of China’s richest are quietly reshaping family norms on foreign soil.