Philanthropist plans to donate whole fortune
By Lydia Chen |
01:12 UTC+8 September 7, 2010
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE most generous philanthropist on Chinese mainland - an entrepreneur with a fortune of more than 5 billion yuan (US$736.8 million) - pledged to donate all his money to charity upon his death.
Chen Guangbiao said it would be "a shame to die in loads of assets."
The chairman of the Jiangsu Huangpu Renewable Resources Utilization Co Ltd made the promise in a public letter to Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, who are planning to hold a charity banquet when they tour Beijing late this month.
The donation promise is to show his belief that returning all one's fortune to society is noble and great, Chen said in the letter on his company's website.
The 42-year-old entrepreneur said that to him, a fortune is just like water. A person can live contentedly on a cup of water, while a bucket of water is enough for a whole family. But if there's a river, he said, "it must be shared with everyone else."
'Sheer luck'
Every entrepreneur's fortune is built on the basis of the support of the government, a stable society and the hard work of employees, he said.
It was just sheer luck to get rich - which means that the fortune a person has generated should be used to help others, he added.
Chen said he will soon contact a prestigious institution to notarize all his assets and make the result public so that the whole society can watch him.
He admitted to Yangtze Evening News that his brother, a security guard, and sister, a dishwasher, used to resent his decision to get more involved in charity work. But they gradually came around, and now the whole family is agreed that charity donations would make their lives more meaningful.
Chen said he thought a lot after a meeting with Bill Gates, the Microsoft founder, in Beijing last year when the two talked more than two hours about how to do a better charity work in China.
Chen said less than 1 percent of China's wealthy elite donate part of their fortunes to society, while, in contrast, the concept of giving back has prevailed in the West.
Few give
In April, Chen was named the most generous philanthropist in China of the year by China Philanthropy Times. He has donated a total of 1.2 billion yuan in the past decade, benefitting more than 700,000 people.
Chen said he will attend the dinner hosted by Gates and Buffett on September 29 in Beijing, a closed-door private gathering by the two US tycoons to talk to 50 of China's wealthiest about charity.
Chen's deed was echoed by an entrepreneur couple. Pan Shiyi and Zhang Xin, the chairman and CEO of SOHO China, the largest real estate developer in Beijing, said they would accept Gates and Buffett's dinner invitation.
The couple, who launched Soho China Foundation, which focuses on educational strategies adapted to today's needs, said online that Chinese wealthy people have much to learn from their US counterparts in terms of charity work.
In June, Buffett and Gates persuaded 40 US billionaires to join their "Giving Pledge" campaign, which asks those who commit to give away at least half their fortune during their lifetime or after their death - and to publicly state their intention with a letter.
Chen Guangbiao said it would be "a shame to die in loads of assets."
The chairman of the Jiangsu Huangpu Renewable Resources Utilization Co Ltd made the promise in a public letter to Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, who are planning to hold a charity banquet when they tour Beijing late this month.
The donation promise is to show his belief that returning all one's fortune to society is noble and great, Chen said in the letter on his company's website.
The 42-year-old entrepreneur said that to him, a fortune is just like water. A person can live contentedly on a cup of water, while a bucket of water is enough for a whole family. But if there's a river, he said, "it must be shared with everyone else."
'Sheer luck'
Every entrepreneur's fortune is built on the basis of the support of the government, a stable society and the hard work of employees, he said.
It was just sheer luck to get rich - which means that the fortune a person has generated should be used to help others, he added.
Chen said he will soon contact a prestigious institution to notarize all his assets and make the result public so that the whole society can watch him.
He admitted to Yangtze Evening News that his brother, a security guard, and sister, a dishwasher, used to resent his decision to get more involved in charity work. But they gradually came around, and now the whole family is agreed that charity donations would make their lives more meaningful.
Chen said he thought a lot after a meeting with Bill Gates, the Microsoft founder, in Beijing last year when the two talked more than two hours about how to do a better charity work in China.
Chen said less than 1 percent of China's wealthy elite donate part of their fortunes to society, while, in contrast, the concept of giving back has prevailed in the West.
Few give
In April, Chen was named the most generous philanthropist in China of the year by China Philanthropy Times. He has donated a total of 1.2 billion yuan in the past decade, benefitting more than 700,000 people.
Chen said he will attend the dinner hosted by Gates and Buffett on September 29 in Beijing, a closed-door private gathering by the two US tycoons to talk to 50 of China's wealthiest about charity.
Chen's deed was echoed by an entrepreneur couple. Pan Shiyi and Zhang Xin, the chairman and CEO of SOHO China, the largest real estate developer in Beijing, said they would accept Gates and Buffett's dinner invitation.
The couple, who launched Soho China Foundation, which focuses on educational strategies adapted to today's needs, said online that Chinese wealthy people have much to learn from their US counterparts in terms of charity work.
In June, Buffett and Gates persuaded 40 US billionaires to join their "Giving Pledge" campaign, which asks those who commit to give away at least half their fortune during their lifetime or after their death - and to publicly state their intention with a letter.
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