FILE - Henderson Land Development’s founder and chairman Lee Shau Kee attends a news conference as he announces his retirement after the company’s general meeting in Hong Kong, Tuesday, May 28, 2019. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, file)
In this image from a video shot by Hong Kong broadcaster TVB, Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po, center, arrives to attend a funeral service for billionaire property tycoon Lee Shau Kee, at a funeral home, in Hong Kong, Monday, April 28, 2025. (TVB via AP)
In this image from a video shot by Hong Kong broadcaster TVB, Hong Kong Chief Secretary Eric Chan, center, arrives to attend a funeral service for billionaire property tycoon Lee Shau Kee, at a funeral home, in Hong Kong, Monday, April 28, 2025. (TVB via AP)
In this image from a video shot by Hong Kong broadcaster TVB, journalists gather outside of a funeral home where a funeral service for billionaire property tycoon Lee Shau Kee takes place, in Hong Kong, Monday, April 28, 2025. (TVB via AP)
In this image from a video shot by Hong Kong broadcaster TVB, workers show the way to people who are arriving to attend a funeral service for billionaire property tycoon Lee Shau Kee, at a funeral home, in Hong Kong, Monday, April 28, 2025. (TVB via AP)
In this image from a video shot by Hong Kong broadcaster TVB, former Hong Kong Chief Executive C.Y. Leung, center right, arrives to attend a funeral service for billionaire property tycoon Lee Shau Kee, at a funeral home, in Hong Kong, Monday, April 28, 2025. (TVB via AP)
In this image from a video shot by Hong Kong broadcaster TVB, journalists film family members of billionaire property tycoon Lee Shau Kee outside of a funeral home where a funeral service for Lee takes place, in Hong Kong, Monday, April 28, 2025. (TVB via AP)
In this image from a video shot by Hong Kong broadcaster TVB, vehicles move past journalists gathering outside of a funeral home where a funeral service for billionaire property tycoon Lee Shau Kee is taking place, in Hong Kong, Monday, April 28, 2025. (TVB via AP)
In this image from a video shot by Hong Kong broadcaster TVB, people attend a funeral service for billionaire property tycoon Lee Shau Kee, at a funeral home, in Hong Kong, Monday, April 28, 2025. (TVB via AP)
Hong Kong’s business, political elite turn out for funeral of property tycoon Lee Shau-kee
HONG KONG (AP) 鈥 Prominent Hong Kong political and business leaders paid tribute Monday to the city’s late billionaire property tycoon Lee Shau-kee, who led one of the biggest real estate empires in the former British territory.
FILE - Henderson Land Development’s founder and chairman Lee Shau Kee attends a news conference as he announces his retirement after the company’s general meeting in Hong Kong, Tuesday, May 28, 2019. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, file)
HONG KONG (AP) 鈥 Prominent Hong Kong political and business leaders paid tribute Monday to the city’s late billionaire property tycoon Lee Shau-kee, who led one of the biggest real estate empires in the former British territory.
Lee, who died at age 97 on March 17, was once ranked as the richest man in Asia. In Forbes鈥 February ranking, he was listed as the city鈥檚 second-richest person with $29.2 billion in assets.
Lee founded Henderson Land Development Co. Ltd. in 1976, and his empire helped shape the Asian financial hub’s skyline. The company’s portfolio includes landmarks such as the International Finance Centre complex and ifc mall in Central, a vibrant commercial district. His business interests also expanded into other sectors such as hotels, utilities and ferries in the city.
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Nicknamed 鈥淯ncle Four,” Lee was ranked the richest person in Asia and the world’s fourth-wealthiest person by Forbes in 1996. He was Henderson Land’s chairman and managing director before stepping down from the position in 2019. He was succeeded by his sons, Peter Lee and Martin Lee, the company鈥檚 co-chairpersons.
Like other tycoons, who rose in the city’s postwar economic boom and then thrived as mainland China abandoned orthodox Marxism, Lee met with former top Chinese leaders, including Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin. In 2007, a decade after the end of British colonial rule, the Hong Kong government awarded him the Grand Bauhinia Medal in recognition of his outstanding contributions to education and community service.
According to Henderson Land, committee members overseeing his funeral included Hong Kong’s leading official, John Lee, former city leaders and , and Zheng Yanxiong, director of Beijing鈥檚 liaison office in Hong Kong. Other business and political heavyweights were also part of the committee.
On Sunday, Zheng, Lee and other former and current government officials, as well as Richard Li, the younger son of Hong Kong’s richest person Li Ka-shing, and property tycoons Thomas Kwok and Raymond Kwok, paid their respects to Lee during a vigil.
Buddhist rites were performed during the service on Monday. His body will be transported to his ancestral homeland in Shunde district, Guangdong province, the coastal region in southern China across from Hong Kong where Lee, like so many top Hong Kong business leaders, was born. He moved to the city in 1948, one year before the communists swept to power in mainland China, targeting land owners as they went, and became a key player in the city’s real estate industry.
Known as Hong Kong鈥檚 鈥淲arren Buffett鈥 for his investment acumen, he was also a leading philanthropist who contributed significantly to the development of both Hong Kong and mainland China.
