Patrick Soon-Shiong, a native of China's Guangdong province, is now the second-largest shareholder of newspaper group Tribune Publishing. Soon-Shiong supported Chairman Michael Ferro in his campaign to ward off a buyout offer from Gannett Co.

So who is this guy? The Chicago Tribune reported on May 23 that Patrick Soon-Shiong used to be an organ transplant surgeon. He made his fortune through drug development, and Forbes estimated his net worth at $11.8 billion.

Tribune Publishing, parent company of the Los Angeles Times, announced that it sold 4.7 million shares of newly issued stock to Soon-Shiong's Nant Capital for $70.5 million. Soon-Shiong will also join the Chicago company's board of directors as vice-chairman.

Raised in apartheid South Africa, Patrick Soon-Shiong is now the richest man in California and the 34th richest man in the United States. According to the Chicago Tribune, after Soon-Shiong became a doctor at age 23, he set up two pharmaceutical companies—Abraxis and American Pharmaceutical Partners. He sold both companies in 2010 for over $8 billion. Soon-Shiong’s company also invented Abraxane, a popular cancer drug.

In 2010, Soon-Shiong and his wife, Michele B. Chan, pledged to donate at least half of their estate to charity during the Giving Pledge organized by Bill Gates. In addition, the couple set up the Chan Soon-Shiong Family Foundation and donated over $1 billion to health care reform.