Charities to get massive payout as tycoon dies
Print Edition
A HONG Kong tycoon’s posthumous donation of his fortune to charity has sparked discussion about charitable giving in China.
Yu Pang-lin, who made his money mostly in real estate and hotels, pledged in 2008 that he would give all of his wealth — about HK$7 billion (US$903 million) — to charity. He died aged 93 in the southern city of Shenzhen, earlier this month.
At a memorial service last week, Yu’s grandson said: “In accordance with my grandpa’s will, all of his fortune and the future profits of his company will be put into a philanthropic trust.”
The money is mostly expected to help cataract patients and universities.
Yu’s philanthropy has been applauded by the public, with many saying he has set a good example for China’s rich.
China has 430 individuals with a net worth of at least US$1 billion. That number is second only to the United States, according to the Hurun Global Rich List. But many of the super-rich have been accused of shying away from donating to charity.
In 2010, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett hosted a charity banquet for a select group of Chinese billionaires to promote giving, after they convinced 40 wealthy individuals and their families in the US to sign the Giving Pledge, a commitment to return the majority of their wealth to society during their lifetime or at their death.
Both Bill and Melinda Gates and Buffett have pledged to donate almost all of their fortunes to charity.
The banquet created a media buzz in China.
Chen Guangbiao, chief executive of a recycling company in east China’s Jiangsu Province, wrote an open letter prior to the event, promising to donate all of his fortune after death as a display of “the benevolence and social responsibility of Chinese entrepreneurs.”
Some wealthy Chinese, however, do not see eye to eye with the “all-out givers.”
Zong Qinghou, the billionaire chairman of drinks-maker Hangzhou Wahaha Group, said after the banquet that he “did not appreciate donation pledges of rich men’s personal wealth.”
“Donation is not charity. A true philanthropist should be able to continuously create social wealth,” he said.
Celebrities like Jackie Chan and Chow Yun-fat also courted controversy after retracting statements about giving their wealth to charity after death.
Cultural stumbling block
Many people, including Yu Pang-lin, have argued that one of the key factors preventing more generous charitable giving in China are deep-rooted cultural principles about leaving wealth to descendants.
Charities’ transparency is another problem. According to a survey conducted by the China Charity & Donation Information Center in 2010, only 25 percent of charity organizations were deemed transparent enough when releasing information.
Nearly 90 percent of respondents said they had not received information about how their money had been used.
A Zhejiang millionaire, who wished to be identified as Lin, said: “It was difficult to find a trustworthy channel for my donations. In the end, I gave the money directly to the people who needed it.
“Lack of regulation of charities in China has led to a crisis of confidence,” he said.
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