Hong Kong Man Pledges $6-Billion to Charity
August 25, 2006 | Read Time: 1 minute
Li Ka-shing, a 78-year-old billionaire investor who owns Hutchison Whampoa, an international technology company, said on Thursday that he plans to give at least a third of his fortune to the Li Ka-shing Foundation, which he established in 1980 in Hong Kong, reports the International Herald Tribune.
Mr. Ka-shing is worth $18.8-billion, according to Fortune magazine.
The foundation has donated or pledged nearly $1-billion to charities in Hong Kong and China, Mr. Ka-shing said. The foundation has supported educational, medical, and health-care causes, according to its Web site.
Michael Troth, Asia Pacific and Middle East head of global wealth structuring at Citigroup, said Mr. Ka-shing’s pledge may spur more philanthropy in Asia. He noted that more and more of his clients are starting to become interested in making major donations to charity.
