Li Ka-shing facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ka-shing Li
|
|
|---|---|
Li in 2010
|
|
| Born | 29 July 1928 |
| Citizenship | China Canada |
| Occupation | Chairman of Li Ka Shing Foundation |
| Spouse(s) |
Chong Yuet-ming
(m. 1962; died 1990) |
| Children |
|
Sir Ka-shing Li (born 29 July 1928) is a very successful businessman and generous giver from Hong Kong. He is known for being one of the richest people in the world. He used to be the head of a big group of companies called CK Hutchison Holdings and CK Asset Holdings. He stepped down in May 2018 but still advises them.
Li has invested in many different areas. These include transportation, real estate, money services, shops, and energy. His main company, Cheung Kong Holdings, has a big impact on Hong Kong's economy. Even though he is very wealthy, Li is known for living a simple life. He wears plain clothes and an inexpensive watch. He has also given billions of dollars to help others through his Li Ka Shing Foundation. This foundation is one of the largest private charities in the world.
Contents
Early Life
Li was born in Chao'an, Chaozhou, in Guangdong Province, China, in 1928. His family moved to Hong Kong in 1940 to escape the war between China and Japan. When he was 15, his father passed away from a serious illness. This meant Li had to leave school and find a job. He worked long hours, about 16 hours a day, at a company that traded plastics.
In 1950, he started his own company, Cheung Kong Industries. He began by making plastics. Over time, his company grew into a major real estate business in Hong Kong. It was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 1972.
Business Career
Making Plastics
In 1950, Li used his savings and some money borrowed from family to start a plastic manufacturing company in Hong Kong. He read a lot about business and decided to make high-quality plastic flowers that looked real. He found a way to mix colors into the plastic to make them look even better.
A big buyer from another country visited his factory. Li got a huge order from them. In just a few years, he became the biggest supplier of plastic flowers in Asia. This helped him make a lot of money.
Real Estate
In 1958, Li thought that rents would keep going up. So, he decided to buy land and build his own factory. A big chance came after the 1967 riots. Many people left Hong Kong, and property prices dropped a lot. Li believed this problem would not last forever. He bought land from those leaving at very low prices.
In 1971, he officially named his real estate company Cheung Kong. Cheung Kong Holdings became a public company in 1972. Li wanted his company to be the best property developer in Hong Kong. He later bought parts of other large companies like Hutchison Whampoa and Hongkong Electric Holdings Limited.
Li's company also sold some very valuable buildings. For example, he sold The Center, a tall skyscraper in Hong Kong. This was one of the biggest office building sales in Asia.
Shops and Stores
Li's company, CK Hutchison, owns a large retail business called AS Watson (ASW). This company runs over 15,000 stores. They have many well-known brands in Europe and Asia. These include health and beauty stores like Watson's, supermarkets like PARKnSHOP, and electronics stores like Fortress. ASW also makes and sells water and drinks.
Buying and Selling Businesses
CK Hutchison also buys new businesses and sells them later to make a profit. For example, they sold their share in Orange, a phone company, in 1999. They also sold part of their ports business to another company in 2006.
Another example is when Hutchison Telecommunications sold a large part of its mobile phone business in India to Vodafone. This showed how the company grows by investing in and then selling parts of its empire.
Internet and Technology
Li has also invested a lot in technology. His company, Horizons Ventures, supports new internet and tech startup companies. They have invested in well-known companies like Facebook and the music streaming service Spotify. They also invested in Siri Inc., which developed the voice assistant Siri.
In 2011, Horizons Ventures invested in Summly, an app that summarizes websites. This made Summly's founder, Nick D'Aloisio, the youngest person to get venture capital funding at just 15 years old. Li's companies continue to invest in new technologies, including bitcoin payment companies and companies working on blockchain technology.
In 2017, Li worked with Alibaba's Jack Ma to bring AlipayHK, a digital payment service, to Hong Kong.
Water Supply
Through CK Infrastructure Holdings Limited, Li owns a large part of a British water company called Northumbrian Water. This shows his investments in important services like water supply.
Retirement
After nearly 70 years of leading his big companies, Li announced his retirement on 16 March 2018. He passed control of his business empire to his son, Victor Li. However, he still works as a senior advisor to the group.
Other Investments
Besides his main companies, Li Ka-shing has also personally invested in real estate in Singapore and Canada. He was once the biggest shareholder of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), a large bank in Canada. He also owns a significant part of Husky Energy, a major energy company in Canada.
Personal Life
Li Ka-shing has two sons, Victor Li and Richard Li. Both of them are also important figures in the business world in Hong Kong. Victor Li took over from his father as the head of CK Hutchison Holdings. Richard Li leads PCCW, which is the biggest telecom company in Hong Kong. Both of his sons are also citizens of Canada. Li himself follows the Buddhist faith.
Li is known for his simple style of dress, especially for someone so wealthy. He has often worn inexpensive watches.
In 1996, his son Victor Li was kidnapped. Li Ka-shing paid a large amount of money to the kidnapper. The police in Hong Kong were not officially involved, but authorities in mainland China later caught the person responsible.
Awards and Honours
- Grand Bauhinia Medal
- Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire
- Commandeur, Légion d'honneur
- Honorary Doctor of Laws, University of Hong Kong
Politics
For many years, Li was seen as someone who supported the government in Beijing, China. However, in recent times, there have been some disagreements between Li and mainland China. During the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests, he did not directly criticize the protesters. Instead, he asked for peace and urged the authorities to treat the protesters kindly.
Li's businesses operate all over the world, including in China. In 2015, some Chinese newspapers criticized Li. This happened when his companies considered selling some properties in Shanghai and Beijing. These newspapers suggested that Li was being ungrateful by selling assets in China. Li's companies said that these sales were just normal business decisions. The criticism later stopped.
Charities
The Li Ka Shing Foundation was started in 1980. It focuses on helping with education, medical services, and research. So far, Li Ka-shing has given over HK$30 billion to these causes. About 80% of this money has gone to projects in mainland China and Hong Kong.
- In 1981, Li's donation helped start Shantou University (STU) near his hometown. He has given over HK$12 billion to develop this university.
- The Li Ka Shing Centre in Cambridge, England, is a Cancer Research UK facility. It is part of the University of Cambridge. This center was named after Mr. Li because of his large donation.
- In 2002, the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business in China was founded with a big donation from the Li Ka Shing Foundation.
- The Li Ka Shing Library at the Singapore Management University is also named after him. He donated US$11.5 million to this university.
- After the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake disaster, Li promised to donate US$3 million to help.
- In 2005, Li gave HK$1 billion (US$128 million) to the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong. It was renamed the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine.
- Also in 2005, Li donated US$40 million to the University of California, Berkeley. He was impressed by their work in biosciences. The university named its new biosciences building the Li Ka Shing Center for Biomedical and Health Sciences.
- Li has supported Stanford University since the 1980s. He is a main supporter of the US$90 million Li Ka-shing Center for Learning and Knowledge. This center is now the main building for the Stanford University School of Medicine.
- In 2007, Li Ka-shing gave SGD$100 million to the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore.
- Li Ka-shing donated CA$25 million to St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto. This helped create the Li Ka-Shing Knowledge Institute for medical research.
- He also donated CA$8 million to the University of Alberta to start the Li Ka-shing Institute of Virology.
- In 2013, Li Ka-shing donated US$2 million to the University of California, San Francisco. This was to support their work in precision medicine.
- With a donation of over HK$3 billion from Li, Tsz Shan Monastery was built. It is a place for Chinese Buddhist practice and education. It opened to the public in 2015.
- In 2017, the Li Ka Shing Foundation donated US$3 million to the University of Melbourne Centre for Cancer Research in Australia. This helps speed up cancer research.
- In 2017, Oxford University launched the Big Data Institute with a £20 million gift from the Li Ka Shing Foundation. This center helps researchers analyze health data to find new treatments.
- In 2018, Li Ka Shing donated HK$10 million to Food Angel. This program provides hot meals to people who need them.
- In 2019, the Li Ka Shing Foundation supported the first trip around Antarctica by a robot. This robot collected climate data.
- In 2020, the Li Ka Shing Foundation helped fight COVID-19. They found protective gear and funded medical research. They gave HK$100 million to support doctors and nurses in Wuhan, China.
- In 2020, the foundation also gave over HK$200 million to help medical and welfare services in Hong Kong. This included financial help for patients and support for people with disabilities.
- In 2023, the foundation donated CN¥100 million to help build a new hospital building in Chaozhou.
- In August 2023, HK$30 million was donated to help with flood relief in Beijing-Tianjin and Northeast China.
- In December 2023, the foundation donated HK$30 million to help with earthquake relief efforts in Gansu, China.
See also
- Hong (business)
- Li's field
- List of Hong Kong people by net worth
Images for kids
