Early Life
Li Ka-shing was born on July 29, 1928, in Chaozhou, Guangdong province, China. In 1940, at the age of 12, he and his family fled to Hong Kong as refugees from the Sino-Japanese War. Due to his father's death from tuberculosis, Li was forced to leave school at the age of 15 to support his family. He started working in a plastics trading company, where he worked long hours.
Rise to Success
In 1950, at the age of 22, Li started his own plastics manufacturing company, Cheung Kong Industries, with savings and loans from relatives. Cheung Kong Industries expanded, later becoming a leading real estate investment company. In 1972, he listed Cheung Kong Holdings Limited on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. He expanded by acquiring Hutchison Whampoa and Hongkong Electric Holdings in 1979 and 1985, respectively.
Key Business Strategies
Li Ka-shing's business strategies have been characterized by diversification and strategic investments. He made early investments in real estate and later expanded into ports, infrastructure, retail, telecommunications, and energy. He has also invested in technology companies, including Facebook, Spotify, and Skype, through his private investment fund, Horizons Ventures. In 2015, he restructured his major holdings into two companies: CK Asset Holdings for property assets and CK Hutchison Holdings for other businesses.
Philanthropy
Li Ka-shing is a dedicated philanthropist and oversees the Li Ka Shing Foundation, one of the largest private foundations in the world. The foundation focuses on education, healthcare, and poverty alleviation, with over 80% of its donations going to Greater China. He has donated over $3.8 billion to various charitable causes.