In a Los Angeles family court, Judge Amy Pellman and her clerks stumbled upon a startling pattern: a single Chinese billionaire's name surfaced time and again in surrogacy petitions for U.S.-born children. Xu Bo, a prominent Chinese videogame developer, sought legal custody of at least four unborn children via American surrogates. Further investigation revealed an even larger picture: Xu was connected to at least twelve more U.S.-born children through surrogacy.
During a confidential video hearing in the summer of 2023, Xu, speaking through an interpreter from China, explained to Judge Pellman his intention to father approximately 20 U.S. children, predominantly male, to inherit his business empire. Despite his ambitions, Xu admitted to not having met his existing children, who reside in Irvine, California, under nanny care.
Judge Pellman's decision to deny Xu's parental rights marked a rare moment of pushback in an industry known for its routine approvals. This decision left the involved children in a precarious legal state, highlighting the largely unregulated nature of the U.S. surrogacy market.
The Wall Street Journal reports that wealthy Chinese individuals are circumventing China's surrogacy ban by creating families via American surrogates. Inspired by figures like Elon Musk, with his 14 known children, they invest millions to craft extensive families. Xu, self-styled as "China's first father" and a critic of feminism, boasts over 100 children born through U.S. surrogacy on his company's social media.
Wang Huiwu, another affluent executive, has fathered 10 daughters with U.S. egg donors, allegedly planning strategic marriages for them. The clientele includes time-strapped executives, older parents, and same-sex couples, all able to afford the luxury of privacy and sidestep legal complications in China, some with political connections to avoid repercussions.
The burgeoning demand has fueled a comprehensive network of American surrogacy agencies, law firms, clinics, and nanny services. Parents can now send genetic material overseas and welcome a new child without setting foot in the United States, with costs reaching $200,000 per child.
American investors are tapping into this market, with Peter Thiel's family office backing IVF clinic chains in Southeast Asia and a new branch in Los Angeles. While most U.S. states permit international surrogacy arrangements, the practice has faced criticism in China, particularly when celebrities or officials are involved, due to ethical concerns and perceived exploitation.
U.S. citizenship, automatically granted to babies born on American soil under the 14th Amendment, remains a contentious political issue. In response to birth tourism, the State Department tightened visa rules in 2020, and an executive order by Donald Trump in January aimed to restrict citizenship for children of foreign nationals, pending Supreme Court review.
The case of Xu Bo and his peers reflects a complex intersection of international law, ethics, and the politics of citizenship, igniting debates on the implications of cross-border surrogacy and the definition of family in the modern world.
