HONG KONG: Lee Shau Kee, founder of Henderson Land Group and one of Hong Kong’s richest men, died “peacefully” on Monday (March 17) evening at 97, the company said in a statement. Dubbed “Hong Kong’s Warren Buffet”, he was known for his influence in the property market.
Born in 1928 in China’s Guangdong province, Mr Lee was the fourth oldest among his siblings, earning him the nickname “Uncle Four”. According to Reuters, his middle-class family owned gold and silver shops in southern China. He moved to Hong Kong at 20 and later founded Henderson Land in 1976. He led the company until he retired in May 2019, leaving it under the control of his sons, Peter and Martin Lee.
Mr Lee’s business went beyond real estate, with investments in energy, retail, and transport. According to Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires list, his wealth was estimated at US$30 billion (S$39.96 billion) at the time of his death. His success was partly linked to his good ties with Chinese leaders. He was part of a group of Hong Kong tycoons who met former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping and was once pictured next to former President Jiang Zemin.
Unlike younger Hong Kong billionaires who stay out of the public eye, Mr Lee was known for speaking on various issues. He once advised young people not to marry early if they did not have a stable income, as raising children could make it harder to build a career.
In the years before the 2008 stock market crash, Mr Lee said that investing in real estate stocks was more profitable than doing real estate business, as his fortune quadrupled during that period.
Throughout the 2000s, he actively invested in Chinese state-owned companies like Bank of China and PetroChina and often spoke about his investment experiences. However, when the financial crisis took a toll on his investments and retail investors who followed his strategy faced losses, he jokingly called himself a “fake god of stocks”.
Mr Lee was also a philanthropist, known for donating billions to charities in Hong Kong and mainland China. In 2018, he kept his word to donate HK$1 billion after the Hang Seng Index hit 30,000 points.
Hong Kong leader John Lee called him an “outstanding business leader and entrepreneur” as well as “a highly respected philanthropist” who made great contributions to the city’s growth.
Mr Lee leaves behind two sons and three daughters.
According to the company’s statement, the date of Mr Lee’s funeral ceremony will be announced separately once the family has finalised the arrangements. /TISG