Li Ka-shing
Born 1928 · Age 97
Hong Kong business magnate, investor and philanthropist; founder of Cheung Kong (now part of CK Hutchison / CK Asset), founder of Li Ka Shing Foundation, diversified investor across real estate, ports, retail, utilities and technology.
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Life & Career Timeline
Family flees to Hong Kong
Li and his family fled to British Hong Kong as refugees from the Sino-Japanese War.
Left school; began work in plastics trading
Father died (tuberculosis); Li left formal schooling at age 15 and worked ~16 hours/day at a plastics trading company to support the family.
Founded Cheung Kong Industries (plastics)
Started a plastic-manufacturing business in Hong Kong using personal savings and loans from relatives; focused on plastic flowers and related products.
Purchased site to build factory
Believing rents would rise, Li purchased land and developed his own factory building to expand manufacturing capacity.
Marriage to Chong Yuet-ming
Married his first cousin Chong Yuet-ming (marriage lasted until her death in 1990).
Bought land after 1967 riots
Acquired land from residents fleeing Hong Kong during the 1967 riots when property prices plunged—strategic purchases for future development.
Named real-estate company 'Cheung Kong'
Officially named his real estate development company Cheung Kong (長江實業), signaling a move into property development.
Cheung Kong Holdings listed on HKSE
Cheung Kong Holdings was publicly listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange; IPO reportedly oversubscribed (reported 65-fold subscription in some accounts).
Won development sites above Central & Admiralty MTR
Successful bids for development sites above Central and Admiralty MTR stations were pivotal in challenging established developers and expanding Cheung Kong's footprint.
Began significant port and container-terminal operations
Acquisition of Hutchison Whampoa's assets launched Hutchison into becoming a major independent operator of ports globally.
Acquired major stake in Hutchison Whampoa
Through Cheung Kong, Li bought a controlling stake in Hutchison Whampoa — marking entry into ports, trading and global infrastructure businesses.
Established Li Ka Shing Foundation
Founded a philanthropic foundation focusing on education, medical services and research initiatives (foundation established 1980).
Acquired Hongkong Electric Holdings
Cheung Kong / related group acquired Hongkong Electric Holdings, expanding Li's energy/utilities portfolio (acquisition year 1985).
Acquired controlling stake in Husky Energy
Li acquired a controlling interest in Husky Energy (Canada), a major move into energy and resources (reported c.1986).
Awarded Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)
Listed in London Gazette supplements in 1988 — recognized by the UK with CBE (reference to 31 Dec 1988 Gazette).
Kidnapping of son Victor; HK$1 billion ransom paid
Victor Li was kidnapped; Li Ka-shing paid a ransom of HK$1 billion directly to the kidnapper. The case was later pursued by mainland authorities.
Sale of Orange stake to Mannesmann — major exit
Hutchison sold its interest in Orange (UK mobile) to Mannesmann, realizing an estimated profit of about US$15.12 billion on the deal.
HK$100M donation to The Hong Kong Polytechnic University; tower named
Donated HK$100 million; the newest tower at PolyU was named the Li Ka Shing Tower (announced/recognized in Sep 2001).
Donations to Singapore Management University & Cheung Kong Graduate School
Donated US$11.5M to SMU for library naming; supported founding of Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (donation in 2002).
Li Ka Shing Centre (Cambridge) opened after donation
Donated £5.3 million to fund a Cancer Research UK facility at the University of Cambridge; the Li Ka Shing Centre opened in May 2002.
Pledged US$3M for 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami relief
Made charitable pledges (reported total US$3 million) to assist in disaster relief following the 2004 tsunami.
Announced sale of CA$1.2B CIBC stake; proceeds to charity
Announced plan to sell his CA$1.2 billion stake in Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce with all proceeds to private charitable foundations.
Large donations to medical & academic causes (HK$1B to HKU; US$40M to UC Berkeley)
Donated HK$1 billion to the University of Hong Kong Faculty of Medicine (renamed Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine on 1 Jan 2006) and US$40M to UC Berkeley for biosciences.
Sold 20% of Hutchison ports business to PSA (profit)
Sold a 20% stake in Hutchison ports to PSA Corporation; the transaction was about US$4 billion with a reported profit of US$3.12 billion.
Received Malcolm S. Forbes Lifetime Achievement Award
Forbes Magazine & the Forbes family presented Li Ka-shing with the first Malcolm S. Forbes Lifetime Achievement Award in Singapore on 5 Sep 2006.
Investment: Facebook stake acquired by Li Ka Shing Foundation
Li Ka-shing Foundation bought roughly 0.8% of Facebook for about US$120 million in two separate rounds (reported in 2007–2008).
Donated SGD$100M to Lee Kuan Yew School (NUS)
Contributed SGD$100 million to the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, with a building named in his honour (announcement 9 March 2007).
Donation for Sichuan earthquake relief
Donated HK$160 million (~US$20.6M) to aid relief after the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.
Led Series B for Siri (~late 2009/early 2010)
Between late 2009 and early 2010, Li led a US$15.5 million Series B financing round for Siri Inc.
Horizons Ventures invested in Summly
Horizons Ventures invested in Summly, making its teenage founder Nick D'Aloisio one of the youngest recipients of venture capital funding at age 15.
Invested in Wibbitz (US$2.3M) and stake in Ginger Software
Horizons Ventures invested US$2.3M in Wibbitz; Li also acquired a stake in Ginger Software (reported Aug 2012).
Investment in BitPay and donation to Guangdong Technion (US$130M)
Horizons Ventures invested in bitcoin payment company BitPay; Li granted US$130M to establish Guangdong Technion–Israel Institute of Technology (joint with Shantou University).
ATO tax claim lodged against CKI (Australia)
Australian Taxation Office lodged a claim against Cheung Kong Infrastructure for approx. A$370M relating to SA Power Networks and Victoria Power Networks (lodged 2013).
Participated in Zoom Series C (US$30M) and Impossible Foods Series D (US$108M)
Horizons Ventures participated in technology/foodtech financings: Zoom (Series C, US$30M) and Impossible Foods (Series D, US$108M) in 2015.
Tsz Shan Monastery opened (major philanthropic project)
Tsz Shan Monastery, developed with donations of over HK$3 billion, opened to the public after about a decade of development (opened April 28, 2015).
Horizons led Blockstream Series A (US$55M) and invested in Expa
Horizons Ventures led a US$55M Series A in Blockstream and invested in startup incubator Expa in 2016.
AlipayHK launched in Hong Kong (partnership with Jack Ma)
Li worked with Alibaba's Jack Ma to bring AlipayHK, a digital wallet service, to Hong Kong (announced/rolled out in Sep 2017).
Agreement reported to sell The Center (HK skyscraper) for HK$40.2B
Reported sale of The Center — the largest-ever office-space real estate sale in the Asia-Pacific region — for HK$40.2 billion (~US$5.15B).
Announced retirement; passed control to son Victor Li
After nearly 70 years leading his businesses, Li announced retirement (16 Mar 2018) and handed control of the conglomerate to his son Victor; Li became senior advisor.
Li Ka Shing Foundation: Antarctic autonomous sailing drone funded
Funded the first circumnavigation of the Antarctic by an autonomous sailing drone (Jan–Aug 2019) carrying NOAA instruments for climate data collection.
HK$1 billion Crunch Time Instant Relief Fund announced
Li Ka Shing Foundation announced a HK$1 billion fund (Crunch Time Instant Relief Fund) in Oct 2019 to support local SMEs facing unprecedented challenges.
COVID-19 relief contributions
Li Ka Shing Foundation supported global COVID-19 efforts, sourcing protective gear and funding medical research; reported use of HK$180M for relief including HK$100M to Wuhan.
Bloomberg net worth estimate (July 2021)
Bloomberg estimated Li Ka-shing's net worth at US$35.3 billion (July 2021).
Li Ka Shing Medical Fellowship established at HKU (LKS Faculty)
Li Ka Shing Medical Fellowship for Internal Medicine set up at the Department of Medicine, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong (July 2021).
Large multi-project philanthropic donations (2022)
Multiple donations in 2022 including HK$150M to CUHK Faculty of Medicine (May), CN¥100M to new Chaozhou People's Hospital inpatient building (Apr), HK$30M flood relief (Aug), US$25M to Philanthropy Asia Alliance (Aug).
Northumbrian Water losses & dividends controversy
CK Infrastructure (75% owned by Li via CK Infrastructure) and KKR took dividends amid reported operating losses for Northumbrian Water; regulator fines and public scrutiny reported (2022–2023).
Forbes ranking & net wealth (July 2023)
Forbes listed Li Ka-shing as the 33rd richest person in the world with an estimated net wealth of US$37.7 billion (July 2023).
Forbes ranking & net worth (March 2024)
Forbes (March 2024) ranked Li Ka-shing 38th richest with an estimated net worth of US$37.3 billion.
Li Ka Shing Foundation donated HK$10M to Transcatheter Cardiovascular Interventions Subsidy Scheme
The Foundation made a donation of HK$10 million to contribute to the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Interventions Subsidy Scheme (2024–26) of Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital (March 2024).
Li Ka Shing Foundation donated US$4M to University of Michigan
In May 2024 the Foundation donated US$4 million to establish a Research Professorship in Hepatology and cancer research funds at the University of Michigan.
Key Achievement Ages
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