Who is Richard Chang from 'Bling Empire: New York'?

Richard Change definitely divided opinion during the debut season of Bling Empire: New York—in fact, for every hype tweet about Tina Leung, there was a...less-than-favorable one about her co-star. But is the reality newcomer really the villain of the Bling Empire spin-off, or is he just misunderstood?

Chang joined his pal and O.G. Bling Empire star Dorothy Wang as part of the cast of Bling Empire: New York, as well as millionaire businessman Stephen Hung and his wife Deborah Hung, jewelry designer Lynn Ban and his own girlfriend, Vika Abbyaeva. The series debuted on Netflix on January 20, and it's safe to say that Richard proved to be one of the most controversial cast members.

While some fans sympathized with Bling Empire's Richard after a humiliating relationship moment with Vika, other viewers were rubbed the wrong way when Richard had some petty drama with Dorothy and Tina in the first season of the East Coast-based series. 

But who is Richard Chang? Let's get to know the polarizing reality personality, including what he does for work, how old he is, and where he sits among the Bling Empire: New York cast net worth stats.

Who is Richard Chang from 'Bling Empire: New York'?

While he's now ventured into the world of reality TV, New York native Richard Chang has a successful career outside of the entertainment biz.

He is currently the Chief Grown Officer at Hudson Medical + Wellness, an NYC-based wellness and regenerative medicine firm. Prior to that, he was the director of merchandise planning at Calvin Klein, a director at Hästens Beds, and the senior vice president at The Sleep Spa. 

Chang studied at New York University’s Stern School of Business and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance and Marketing.

Aside from his business life, it's believed that Richard is super close to his family, especially his mother, who was sadly diagnoses with pancreatic cancer in August 2022.

We see snippets of his family life on the show—in particular his and his mother's relationship, when she encourages him to marry his partner, Vika Abbyaeva in episode 2...

What is Richard Chang's net worth?

Per The Cinemaholic, Richard Chang's net worth is estimated to be around $2.5 million.

When it comes to the rest of the Bling Empire: New York cast's income, Richard sits somewhere around the middle. While Stephen Hung and Tina Leung are worth significantly more, Richard is thought to earn around a similar amount to Blake Abbie, whose net worth is reported to sit around $1 million - $5 million.

It's believed that most of his net worth stems from his work in business, having held multiple high-up positions at companies in the past. And of course, his reality TV earnings are likely contributing nicely!

Richard Chang age: how old is he?

Born on May 30, 1984, Richard Chang is currently 38 years old. He is a Gemini. 

As such, he's one of the younger members of the Bling Empire spin-off cast; Nam Laks for example is 28, Vika Abbyaeva is 27, Dorothy Wang is 34, and Blake Abbie is 32. 

Richard Chang Instagram: what's his handle?

You can find Richard from Bling Empire on Instagram at the handle @chairman_chang, where he has more than 12,900 followers—up from 9,600 followers prior to the airing of the reality show!

Along with artsy photos and travel memories (Mexico, Tuscany, Anguilla, etc), his grid is full of coupley shots of Chang with his girlfriend Vika Abbyaeva. He's also got a few classic selfies in there, as well as promo videos and images of Bling Empire: New York.

Richard Chang and Vika Abbyaeva relationship

While on social media things are picture-perfect for Richard and Vika, things were a bit messier between the couple on the reality series. At the end of the first season of Bling Empire: New York, Richard begins giving a romantic speech to his 27-year-old girlfriend—whom he first connected with during the pandemic, after having dated "half of the New York population" (his words, not ours)—seemingly appearing to be proposing marriage to her.

However, just before he could propose, Vika cuts him off, saying: “If you are going where I think you are going, I have to stop you. Okay?” She added that she was not ready for marriage and that it wasn't a good time to get engaged with "everything going on," alluding to Richard's family.

Earlier in the season, as mentioned, we also see Mama Chang (who is battling cancer) say that she wants her son to marry Vika. Talk about pressure!

However, just because the proposal was put on pause, doesn't mean the relationship between Richard Chang and Vika is over. Both have posted photos of themselves celebrating Lunar New Year together in January 2023—and since the airing of the show, the pair have regularly posted Insta pics and videos together too, attending social events.

See Richard Chang in Bling Empire: New York, now streaming on Netflix.