Lee Shau-kee, nick named “Uncle Four”, Born on March 7th 1928 in Shunde, Guandong, China is a Hong Kong business man, investor and philanthropist. He is a well-known real estate tycoon and majority owner of Henderson Land development, a property conglomerate which deals majorly in property hotels, restaurants and internet services.
Lee was said to have come from a not so wealthy background that could only afford to eat fish or meat twice a month, When he came in to Hong Kong at the the age of 20, he had less than HK$1000 on him but the ever relentless and determined fellow has been able to build a fortune for himself overtime majorly via investments in real estates. He also has investments in other sectors like oil & gas and banking & finance. He is currently the second richest man in Hong Kong and ranks no. 41 on Forbes list for the world’s richest men with an estimated net worth of about $27.2Billion.
Career Summary
Li shau-kee founded Henderson Land development in 1972. The company’s principal activities are property development and investment, project management, construction, hotel operation, department store operation, finance, investment holding and infrastructure. It is the third largest Hong Kong real estate developer by market capitalization. The company is controlled by Dr Lee Shau Kee, who owns approximately 70.17% of the share capital as at June 2015.
In 2017, Lee Shau-kee’s net worth jumped US$9.3 billion, or 39%—the most money made that year out of all of Hong Kong’s tycoons.
He also cofounded property developer Sun Hung Kai with Kwok Tak-Seng, the late father of Hong Kong’s billionaire Kwok brothers. Some of the company’s most notable development projects are; the Beverly Hills upper class private housing estate and the international finance center in both located in Hong Kong.
His notable Philanthropic acts
Lee shau-kee is well known for his boundless philanthropic acts and has immensely impacted many lives with his wealth and also contributed to the development of his homeland.
Lee Shau-kee is a well-known supporter of education. In 2007 he gave the University of Hong Kong HK$500m and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology HK$400m, the Chinese University of Hong Kong also received HK$50m two years earlier. In 2018, he pledged to donate a further HK$110m to support the general development of the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Also in 2005, he set up the Warmth Project, an RMB330m program in mainland China that has trained a million farmers and 10,000 village doctors. In a move that must have hurt for a property developer, in 2015 he gave away a big chunk of land to house Hong Kong’s biggest youth hostel in Yuen Long.
In May 2018, Lee donated HK$100 million to Hang Seng Management College supporting its strategic development.