(FILE)

Wang Zhongjun, Chairman of the Beijing-based Huayi Brothers Media Corp., reportedly bought Vincent Van Gogh's masterpiece Still Life, Vase With Daisies and Poppies at Sotheby's New York on November 4 for $61.8 million. This painting was produced in June 1890, one month before the artist attempted to take his own life.

Wang was born in November 1960 in a military family. He joined the army in 1976. After leaving the army, he studied in the United States from 1989 to 1994 and got a master's degree of mass media at State University of New York. In 1994, Wang Zhongjun and his younger brother Wang Zhonglei co-founded Huayi Brothers, which has since evolved into one of China's largest private entertainment groups engaging in film, TV, music and other businesses.

Wang Zhongjun, who has been a fan of painting and art since childhood, has a reputation as an influential art collector.