Sir Ka-shing Li (born 29 July 1928)[3][4][5][6] is a Hong Kong billionaire business magnate, investor, and philanthropist.[7] He previously served as chairman of CK Hutchison Holdings[8] and CK Asset Holdings, before retiring from those roles in May 2018. Following his retirement, he assumed the position of senior advisor to both companies.[9] He is an investor, developer, and operator of the largest health and beauty retailer in Asia and Europe.[10] In the March 2024 Forbes list of The Richest People In The World, Li Ka-shing was ranked 38th with a net worth of $37.3 billion.[11]
Li has invested in a range of industries, including transportation, real estate, financial services, retail, and energy and utilities.[12] His conglomerate, Cheung Kong Holdings has operated businesses across multiple sectors of the Hong Kong economy and has at times accounted for a notable share of the total market capitalisation of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.[13] Forbes Magazine and the Forbes family honoured Li Ka-shing with the first ever Malcolm S. Forbes Lifetime Achievement Award on 5 September 2006 in Singapore.[14] In spite of his wealth, Li has cultivated a reputation for leading a frugal no-frills lifestyle, and is known to wear simple black dress shoes and an inexpensive Seiko wristwatch. He lived in the same house for decades, in what has now become one of the most expensive districts in Hong Kong, Deep Water Bay in Hong Kong Island. Li is also a philanthropist, donating billions of dollars to charity and various other philanthropic causes, and owning the second largest private foundation in the world after Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.[15]
Early life
Li was born in Chao'an, Chaozhou in Guangdong Province in 1928 to Teochew parents named Li Yun-ching (1898–1943) and Cheung Bik-chin (1893–1984). Li and his family fled to Hong Kong in 1940 as refugees from the Sino-Japanese war.[20] Owing to his father's death from tuberculosis, he was forced to leave school at the age of 15 and found a job in a plastics trading company where he worked 16 hours a day.[21] In 1950 he started his own company, Cheung Kong Industries.[22] From manufacturing plastics, Li developed his company into a leading real estate investment company in Hong Kong that was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 1972. Cheung Kong expanded by acquiring Hutchison Whampoa and Hongkong Electric Holdings in 1979 and 1985 respectively.
Business career
Plastics manufacturing
In 1950, after learning how to operate a plant, Li founded a plastic manufacturing company in Hong Kong with personal savings and funds borrowed from relatives. Li avidly read trade publications and business news before deciding to supply the world with high quality plastic flowers at low prices. Li learned the technique of mixing colour with plastics that resemble real flowers. After retooling his shop, he prepared the plant for a visit from a large foreign buyer. Fortunately for Li, the buyer placed a large order and a few years later, Li grew to be the largest supplier of plastic flowers in Asia and made a fortune selling them.[23]
Real estate
In 1958, believing rents would continue to rise, Li decided to purchase a site and develop his own factory building. An opportunity to acquire more land arrived after the 1967 riots when many people fled Hong Kong, and, as a result, property prices plummeted. Li believed the political crisis would be temporary and property prices would eventually rise, and bought land from the fleeing residents at low prices. In 1971, Li officially named his real estate development company Cheung Kong (長江實業). Cheung Kong Holdings
Personal life
Li was married to his first cousin, Chong Yuet-ming (1933–1990) in 1962 until her sudden death on New Year's Day 1990 due to a suspected drug overdose (other sources name the cause as cardiac arrest). She was the daughter of his maternal uncle (mother's younger brother), Cheung Jing-on (1908–1996) and his wife, Hew Bik-yin (1911–2002), who were also from the Chaoshan region. Both settled in British Hong Kong long before Li migrated to the city. He has two sons, Victor and Richard, both Canadian citizens. Victor Li succeeded his father as Chairman of CK Hutchison Holdings and Chairman of CK Asset Holdings, while Richard Li is Chairman of PCCW, the largest telecom company in Hong Kong. He is a follower of Buddhism.[52]
Li has been called "plainly dressed" for a Hong Kong tycoon. In the 1990s, he wore a HK$50 timepiece from Citizen Watch and plain ties. He later wore a Seiko.[53]
Awards and honours
Politics
For many years, he was considered to be a pro-Beijing figure. However, in 2010s, tensions had been growing between Li and the mainland. During the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests, he refused to outright condemn the protesters, instead urging for peace and calling on the authorities to respond to the protesters humanely.[58]
On 4 August 2011 at the interim results announcement for Hutchison Whampoa, Li endorsed Henry Tang for the forthcoming chief executive election.[59][60] Then Li said "You all can be just like me, one-person-one-vote (一人一票)."[61] The media then looked at Li in disbelief, and pointed out that regular citizens do not get one-person-one-vote.[62] Li then tried to laugh it off and said "maybe in 2017 they will have one-person-one-vote to choose the chief executive, I probably just said it a little early."
Charities
- The Li Ka Shing Foundation was established in 1980 with a focus on education, medical services and research initiatives. To date, Li Ka-shing has invested over HK$30 billion in projects covering education, medical services, charity and anti-poverty programmes, with about 80% of the projects in mainland China and Hong Kong.
- Li's donation in 1981 resulted in the founding of Shantou University (STU) and the Shantou University Medical College, near his hometown of Chaozhou. Li has earmarked grants and contributions of over HK$12 billion to develop STU. In 2013, Li granted US$130 million to establish the Guangdong Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in Guangdong Province as a joint venture between Technion – Israel Institute of Technology and Shantou University.
- In September 2001, the newest tower in the Hong Kong Polytechnic University was named after Li, following a HK$100 million donation to the university.[71]
- The Li Ka Shing Centre in Cambridge, England, houses a Cancer Research UK facility, which is a part of the University of Cambridge. The centre was named after Mr. Li following a £5.3 million donation, and was opened in his presence in May 2002.[72]
See also
- Hong (business)
- Li's field
- List of Hong Kong people by net worth
External links
References
- World's Richest People > Li Ka-shing Forbes, retrieved 25 June 2021^
- Ian Young. From Hong Kong to Canada and back: the migrants who came home from home South China Morning Post, 28 May 2013, retrieved 25 June 2021^
- Silobreaker: Biography for Li Ka-Shing