But Su isn't a money-making machine anymore, and his humanity is certainly beginning to shine through.

Su joked with me, remarking that he's part of the "57th" ethnic group of China because of his mixed Chinese-foreign blood. China is known to have 56 ethnic groups.

"Sometimes people ask me which country I come from. When I say I come from China, they will examine my face and find it hard to believe and ask me further if I was a minority like a Uygur or a Mongolian," Su said. "Knowing they are getting confused, I will always tell them that I am the 57th ethnicity."

Still, the cynicism of yore seems to still have a grasp, like some psychological scar of posttraumatic financial stress.

Because he still flies from Beijing to Hong Kong regularly, I asked him which one he considers home.

"Home?" Su laughed, "I guess you are very young. What is home? I had many houses in the United States, Hong Kong, Beijing, et cetera. Home is just like one of your clothes."

In staging his comeback, whatever business form that eventually takes, Su might remember at least that family is not just like one of your clothes. Neither is happiness.

Wang Yanjuan and Chen Wen contributed to the article from New York