A Poor Immigrant and A High School Dropout
Here’s a story about a man who came into existence from a very humble beginning to become one of the most respected individuals in the history of mankind. About 70 years ago, Li Ka Shing migrated to Hong Kong, at that time it was still a British territory. Even though there are countless reasons why people migrate to a foreign land, the common denominator of all is to look for a better opportunity. And for Li and his family, their reason was to avoid the turmoil caused by the Sino-Japanese war.
Unfortunately, when life just started to become better after settling down, Li’s father was diagnosed with Tuberculosis. Due to their limited financial means, Li’s father passed away as they could not afford treatment. Consequently, at the age of 12, Li was forced to quit school to take care of his family even though he had excelled academically.
Despite of all the setbacks he experienced as a child, Li kept an optimistic view of life. He made a vow to put his family back in order. As every cloud has a silver lining, his unfavorable early start ignited his fighting spirit. With unstoppable curiosity and steadfast learning spirit, Li took on all kind of jobs. He started from the bottom up and went through many different levels of career advancement. True to his belief as he had quoted, “the most important thing is to improve yourself and give it your best. Then many things previously thought to be impossible will become possible”. His determination, hard work and prudence eventually enabled him to start his own company, Cheung Kong Industries in 1950. This initial ownership empowered him to build a global empire that cover almost every facet of human life from electricity to telecommunication, retail to real estate and shipping to internet. Li exemplifies the possibility of taking control of your own life and transforming it to have a better future.
Fast forward to 2008, half a century later, Li glided up the prosperity scale from the extreme left to the extreme right. Once a poor immigrant, now he is one of Asia’s richest men with a net worth of US$26 billion. Once a high school dropout, now he is an honorary doctorate from many prestigious universities, such as Cambridge University in United Kingdom, Beijing University in China, just to name a few. Once an ordinary citizen, now he is a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire and a recipient of France’s Commander Légion d’honneur award.
While most consumers outside Hong Kong might not have heard his name, as chairman of Cheung Kong Holdings Limited and Hutchison Whampoa Limited, he leads a global empire with operations in 57 countries and a combined market capitalization of more than US$120 billion. Li is also a renowned philanthropist whose foundation, Li Ka Shing Foundation is one of the biggest charitable organizations in the world with a funding of more than US$10 billion. The Times in the United Kingdom and Ernst & Young UK jointly named Dr. Li as the Entrepreneur of the Millennium, while Forbes Inc. made him the first recipient of the Malcolm S. Forbes Lifetime Achievement Award.
Despite of his abundance, Li never flaunts his wealth or status. In fact, he uses his influence to help benefit society at large, especially in education and medical projects. He not only epitomizes entrepreneurial excellence but he is also a pioneer to the culture of giving in a region where wealth is usually passed on as inheritance to your next generation. There are many things one can learn from Li but one trait to be reckoned with is how to be humble and grounded in the face of mounting wealth. Today, he still wears an inexpensive Seiko watch and drives a modest car.
With Li’s many successes, there are lots of knowledge impartation and experiences one can learn from him and it would probably take a book or two to write his autobiography. Nonetheless, the power behind Li’s success seems to lie on one principle, “I never forget to maintain stability while advancing, and I never forget to advance while maintaining stability. Stability and advancement must always be in balance.” His rags-to-riches background speaks volumes about how a man’s drive, intellect and tenacity can not only release a person out of poverty, but also empower an ordinary man to become a vessel of blessings that releases poverty out of others.
