California surrogate learns the baby she’s carrying actually belongs to Chinese billionaire who allegedly has 300 kids

A California surrogate who thought she was carrying a child for a single father admits to feeling “blindsided” after learning that the baby she was carrying allegedly belonged to a Chinese billionaire. Reports vary on how many children the billionaire supposedly has, but one former partner claims it to be as many as 300.

The surrogate, who wished to keep her identity anonymous, spoke with CBS News’ Katrina Kaufman, telling the reporter, “I don’t understand what the motive is,” after she was shown a photo allegedly showing a room full of the billionaire’s children. The situation has raised questions over the loopholes in commerical surrogacy that might be abused.

The surrogate, whom CBS referred to only as “Judy,” claimed that she saw an Instagram advertisement offering $120,000 for a woman willing to enter into a surrogacy arrangement. As a single mother to a seven-year-old child, the payment was an opportunity to improve her finances but Judy also claimed that she saw it as a chance to help another family in need by giving them a child.

Judy was under the impression that she would be carrying a child for a “single father.” When asked by Kaufman if she was told anything about the family, Judy said, “It was along the lines of ‘just a single father looking to have a big family.’” When asked what she thought a “big family” meant, Judy answered, “I was picturing ‘Sound of Music.’”

Judy is conflicted about the child

Leaked documents obtained by CBS revealed that Judy was carrying the baby of Chinese billionaire Xu Bo. CBS also revealed to her that the billionaire supposedly had upwards of 100 children, possibly even reaching 300 kids in total. While Xu has been reported to have over 100 children through U.S. surrogates, a former partner who is involved in a custody lawsuit against the billionaire claims that number to closer to 300.

“It feels like, he’s like, creating an army,” Judy said. In a statement, Xu claimed that “having more children brings more blessings,” before adding that he was “striving for the development of the Chinese nation.”

Judy expressed concern for the child she was carrying, telling Kaufman, “I just know that, that’s going to be hard for the child.” She then claimed to feel like a “baby factory” after learning that Xu Bo is allegedly working with 20 other surrogates right now.

Judy’s story is just a part of a bigger, more concerning trend in the surrogacy industry which CBS is investigating. Industry whistleblowers claimed that there have been numerous cases in which parents hired multiple surrogates to grow their families at a rapid pace. The surrogate mothers oftentimes never even meet the intended parents.