Thread by @PekingMike

THREAD: The horrific murders of 8 people last week in Atlanta have led us to focus more on the spa industry, specifically who OWNS and operates the spas. The answers surprised us. nytimes.com/2021/03/24/us/…

2/x. First, read the story. @corinaknoll , the lead writer, really draws a contrast between the lives of two branches of Asian-Americans - a group w/ the biggest wealth gap in the US. @FrancesRobles and I combed records and made calls. @YLindaQiu hit the pavement in Atlanta.

3/x. We were surprised to find that the CEO of "Gold Hotlanta," the company that runs the Gold Spa, is a prominent Taiwanese-American businessman set to become head of the World Taiwanese Chambers of Commerce. Taiwan's government made video about him:

4/x. The owner of the building housing Gold Spa, per Fulton County records, is a 34-year old veterinarian who lives in Virginia. She bought the property for $850,000 when she was 25 years old. Like w/ Sue-ling Wang (王瑞麟 a/k/a 王德) we tried hard to contact her. No response.

5/x: We did talk to the owner of the building housing the Aromatherapy Spa, across the street from Gold Spa on Piedmont Road in Atlanta, where 1 woman was killed. He lives in a $1.57m lakeside home. When asked about what he knew about the spa, he said: "I probably shouldn't say."

6/x: Who OWNS the Aromatherapy Spa? It's a mystery. There are two companies registered to do business there. One is called Galt & Roark (after two protagonists in Ayn Rand novels).

7/x: The other company there is called "Happy L.P. Holdings." And they have something in common with the two companies associated with Gold Spa - Gold Hotlanta and Golden Limited Enterprises. Can you guess what it is?

8/x: WE HAVE NO IDEA WHO THE OWNERS ARE! Why? Because America. Unlike almost every other developed country (and many developing countries, like China), the USA shields the identities of company owners from public scrutiny.

9/x: The owners of the businesses do need to report this information: to the IRS. It goes on the schedule K-1 of the business tax return. But those only become public - sometimes - during lawsuits. Otherwise, it's secret.

10/x: There WAS a lawsuit in 2012 involving the Gold Spa owner, Golden Limited Enterprises. This was before Mr. Wang, the prominent businessman, entered the scene. The court docs included the Schedule K-1, but it was from 10 years ago.

11/x: The USA is very good for real estate transparency. That's why we know who the landlords are of the Gold Spa and the Aromatherapy Spa are. But who is raking in the profits from the businesses themselves? We can make educated guesses, sure.

12/x: But "close" only works in horseshoes and hand grenades. It most definitely doesn't work in journalism. The corp docs available at the Georgia Sec of State website (they do MORE than elections!) list company officers, but, like rest of USA, NOT THE OWNERS.

13/13: So, dear reader, I leave you with this. If it is so easy to hide the ownership of massage parlors in the USA, does that make it more attractive for wealthy people to put their money into them, knowing their identities will be cloaked, just like the owners of Galt & Roark?