Michael Lee-Chin facts for kids

Michael Lee-Chin (born January 3, 1951) is a very successful Jamaican-Canadian businessman and a generous giver to good causes. He is the chairman and CEO of Portland Holdings Inc., a private investment company in Ontario, Canada.

Mr. Lee-Chin was given the Order of Ontario in 2017. This is a special award for people who have done great things for the province of Ontario. In 2016, he was chosen to lead Jamaica's Economic Growth Council (EGC), which helps the country's economy grow.

He has given large amounts of money to important places in Canada. These include the Royal Ontario Museum, the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, McMaster University, and the Joseph Brant Hospital Foundation. Mr. Lee-Chin also served as the leader, called a chancellor, of Wilfrid Laurier University.

Early life and education

Michael Lee-Chin was born in Port Antonio, Jamaica, in 1951. His parents were Aston Lee and Hyacinth Gloria Chen. Both of his parents had mixed African and Chinese Jamaican backgrounds. When Michael was seven, his mother married Vincent Chen. They had seven more children together. One of his siblings, Wayne Chen, became well-known for organizing a group of supermarket owners in Jamaica.

Michael's mother sold Avon Products and worked as a bookkeeper. His stepfather ran a local grocery store. Michael attended Titchfield High School from 1962 to 1969.

First jobs and moving to Canada

In 1965, Michael's first job was helping with the landscaping at the Frenchman's Cove Hotel. The next year, he worked on the Jamaica Queen cruise ship, cleaning the engine room.

In 1970, he received a scholarship from the Jamaican government. This allowed him to go to Canada to study Civil Engineering at McMaster University. He paid for his first year of university himself, but after that, he continued with the scholarship. He graduated in 1974.

After university, Michael worked briefly as a road engineer in Jamaica. However, he soon returned to Canada. He began studying business and worked as a bouncer for a short time. Later, he found a job as a financial advisor for Investors Group.

Building a business career

Michael Lee-Chin worked at Investors Group for two years. In 1979, he moved to Regal Capital Planners and became a regional manager. While there, in 1983, he borrowed C$500,000 from the Continental Bank of Canada. He used this money to buy a share in Mackenzie Financial Group. By 1987, this investment was worth C$3.5 million.

Starting AIC and Berkshire

In 1987, Michael used the money from his Mackenzie investment. He bought a company in Kitchener, Ontario, called Advantage Investment Council for $200,000. This company was part of AIC Limited. At that time, the company managed about C$800,000. He renamed the company AIC. He grew it into a large fund that managed around C$6 billion for many investors.

After buying AIC Limited, Michael Lee-Chin started the Berkshire group of companies. This group included investment planning, a securities dealership, and an insurance business. By 2007, Berkshire managed over C$12 billion. In 2007, Manulife bought Berkshire from Portland Holdings. This made Portland one of the biggest shareholders in Manulife.

In 2009, Michael Lee-Chin sold AIC Limited to Manulife. The next year, Manulife changed the names of the AIC funds.

Today, Mr. Lee-Chin is the founder and Chairman of Portland Holdings Inc. He is also the chairman and director of Mandeville Holdings Inc. He is also the Executive Chairman, CEO, and Portfolio Manager of Portland Investment Counsel Inc.

Investment strategies and challenges

In the late 1980s, AIC faced difficulties when the real estate market struggled. However, it recovered in the early 1990s by investing in large companies like Merrill Lynch and TD Bank. This helped investments grow from US$8 million in 1990 to almost US$8 billion by 1998.

Michael Lee-Chin was careful about investing during the "dotcom boom" of the late 1990s. While many tech companies were growing fast, he chose not to invest heavily in them. This meant AIC's investments lost some value at first. However, after the dotcom crash in 2000 and 2001, AIC performed better than the market.

In 2003, AIC was part of a review involving many Canadian mutual fund companies. Investigators found that AIC had allowed some investors to make quick trades that earned them large profits. As a result, in 2004, AIC Limited had to pay CAD $58.8 million back to affected investors. This was the largest penalty given to any fund company in that review.

On October 5, 2006, Michael Lee-Chin stepped down as CEO of AIC. Jonathan Wellum, AIC's chief investment officer, took over his role.

Personal life

In 1974, Michael married Vera Lee-Chin, whom he met at university. They later separated in 1997 and are now divorced. They have three children: Michael Jr., Paul, and Adrian.

Michael Lee-Chin now lives in Burlington, Ontario, with his wife Sonya Lee-Chin. They have twin daughters, Elizabeth and Maria.

Wealth and hobbies

Forbes magazine first included Michael Lee-Chin on its list of billionaires in 2010. His estimated wealth has changed over the years, being around $1.4 billion as of June 2023.

He is known in Ontario, Canada, for his impressive collection of cars, especially Ferraris. His collection includes famous models like the LaFerrari, Ferrari 599 GTO, Ferrari F12tdf, and Ferrari Enzo.

In 2021, Mr. Lee-Chin received a very large yacht called Ahpo. It was about 115 meters (377 feet) long and worth an estimated US$354 million. During its building, the yacht was known as Project Enzo, showing his love for Ferraris. In 2023, after owning it for just over a year, he sold Ahpo to another Canadian businessman, Patrick Dovigi. The yacht was then renamed Lady Jorgia.

Helping others: Philanthropy

Michael Lee-Chin is known for his generous donations. In 2003, he promised to donate $30 million to the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM). By 2015, a third of this amount had been paid. He also gave $10 million to the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. This gift helped create the Michael Lee-Chin Family Institute for Corporate Citizenship. The institute helps business leaders learn how to make their companies good citizens in the world.

In September 2014, Michael Lee-Chin and his family donated $10 million to the Joseph Brant Hospital Foundation.

In 2015, Michael Lee-Chin and his family received the National Philanthropy Award. This award recognized them as outstanding philanthropists for their charitable giving.

Investments in the Caribbean

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Jamaica faced a financial crisis. Michael Lee-Chin saw an opportunity to invest in his home country. Portland Holdings bought 75 percent of the National Commercial Bank of Jamaica for 6 billion Jamaican dollars (US$127 million) from the Jamaican Government.

In 2003, Senvia Money Services Inc., a company that helps people send money globally, was started. In 2004, AIC Financial Group Limited, based in Trinidad, was also acquired.

In 2004, he announced plans for the AIC Caribbean Fund. This fund aimed to invest in the entire Caribbean region, especially Jamaica, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago. The goal was to raise US$1 billion to invest in businesses there.

In 2006, Portland bought a large share (85 percent) of the United General Insurance Company. This was Jamaica's biggest car insurer. It was renamed Advantage General Insurance Company. At the same time, a major share in CVM Communications Group (which includes radio and TV stations and newspapers) was also purchased. Portland also worked with the Canadian Risley Group to form Columbus Communications Ltd. This company owns parts of several telecommunications providers in the Caribbean.

In the tourism industry, Michael Lee-Chin led Portland to buy several properties in the Caribbean. These included the Trident Villas and Spa in Jamaica, Reggae Beach, and Blue Lagoon.

Portland's first investment in the healthcare industry was in July 2006. Medical Associates Ltd., a private hospital in Kingston, Jamaica, joined the Portland Group.

Business strategy

While working at Investors Group, Michael Lee-Chin studied the ways of successful investors like Warren Buffett and Benjamin Graham. He learned their "buy and hold" strategy, which means buying good investments and keeping them for a long time. This idea is part of AIC's motto: Buy, hold and prosper. He also invested in public investment management businesses. These businesses do well when the market is growing because the value of their investments goes up, and more people invest.

Businesses owned or operated by Michael Lee-Chin

• Columbus Communications –
  • Columbus Communications Jamaica Ltd / Flow Jamaica
    • FibraLink
    • CVM Television Group
    • Merit Communications
      • New World Network

*Americas Region Caribbean Optical-ring System (ARCOS)

• • • Sauce Cable Company
      • Affordable Enterprise Ltd
      • Cabana Cable Ltd
      • Dynamic Corp, a company in the making Eastern Cable Network Ltd
      • Home Commercial Satellite Ltd
      • Universal Cable Network Ltd
  • Columbus Communications Trinidad Ltd/Flow Trinidad
  • Columbus Communications Grenada Ltd/Flow Grenada
• Eastern Caribbean Gas Pipeline Company (ECGPC)
• National Commercial Bank Jamaica (NCB)
• Radio Jamaica
• Reggae Beach (resort), Jamaica
• Senvia
• Total Finance Bank of Trinidad & Tobago Ltd
• Trident Hotel (Resort)
• Wallenford Coffee

See also

• List of billionaires