Giving it all away II
Kyaemon
This story reminds me of a poor woman in Buddha’s time. She was very poor. Yet, she wanted to donate what little she had. She was struggling with her decision for quite some time. Buddha knew about it, but he didn’t intervene. Finally, she made the donation out of her pure cetana (goodwill or generosity). Buddhists believe pure cetana counts.
I believe that Mr Yu’s giving away all his savings is not only huge but endowed with pure cetana. He once slept on floors and had cataracts(wikipedia). He understands the poor and underprivileged and wants to help them. His cetana will certainly go far.
A good lesson for Burma’s tycoons and fortunate Burma expatriates also. “Tay lae, par twar dar, ma hoke bhuu” (Can’t take all the money with you when you die). (Naturally after providing for old age and something for the children).
Bright light of the week
10 brightest ideas of the week: Sunda, May 2, 2010 | San Francisco Examiner
http://www.sfexaminer.com/opinion/10-brightest-ideas-of-the-week-Sunda-May-2-2010-92532134.html
Yu Pengnian
What: Chinese tycoon Yu Pengnian, 88, has donated his entire $1.2 billion fortune to charity since 2003. So far, his foundation has funded more than 150,000 cataract surgeries — and established numerous Project Hope schools — for people in China’s poorest regions. Yu started out in poverty and has suffered from cataracts, which are relatively common in China.
Cut out of will: None of Yu’s several children will inherit any of his fortune, a move he says the children agree with. His reasoning is, “If my children are more capable than me, it’s not necessary to leave a lot of money to them. If they are incompetent, a lot of money will only be harmful to them.”
Yu Pengnian
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yu Pengnian, built his billion dollar real estate fortune from the ground up. He was born poor and still had nothing when he moved to Hong Kong at 28. In 2010 he became China’s top philanthropist when he donated his remaining 3.2 billion yuan to the Yu Pengnian Foundation. This brings the amount he has donated to 8.2 billion yuan ($1.2 billion US).
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Early life
Pengnian moved to Hong Kong when he was only 28 years old. He worked over 10 hours each day and still had to sleep on the floor because he had no money to speak of.
About his early days in Hong Kong he has been quoted as saying “I migrated to Hong Kong when I was 28. At the beginning, I had to work more than 10 hours every day and sleep on the floor because I had no money and no one to depend on.”[1]
In fact, his humble beginnings are part of what drove him to donate so much to charity. “Unlike Nobel, I like to support the poor because I used to be poor and I understand the misery of poor people,” he said.
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Philanthropy and wealth
China’s Yu Pengnian made a fortune in real estate, and now he’s giving it back. The 88-year-old tycoon has slowly been transferring his wealth to his Yu Pengnian Foundation, and now he’s gone the final step, pledging his final $470 million in cash and property to the charity.
Pengnian made his money as a Shenzhen hotel and real estate entrepreneur. When his foundation was set up it was mandated to make donations to health, education and disaster relief. Pengnian himself suffered with cataracts and his charity has funded over 150,000 cataract removal operations across China since 2003.[2] It has also had a hand in setting up numerous Project Hope schools in the western rural areas of China.
He had been donating to his foundation regularly but his final donation of April 23, 2010 is to be his last.[3]
“This will be my last donation. I have nothing more to give away,” he said. “It will all be for charity, no part of it will be inherited by anyone, no part will be used to do business or for investments.” At the press conference where his last donation was reported he said that he hoped his actions would be a call to action for other rich members of Chinese society.
He said, “My fortune is just a drop in the bucket compared to them but I have a point of view that is very different from others, I will not leave my fortune to my children.” “If my children are more capable than me, it’s not necessary to leave a lot of money to them. If they are incompetent, a lot of money will only be harmful to them.”
Yu Pengnian – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yu_Pengnian
http://www.hollywoodgrind.com/yu-pengnian-donates-his-entire-fortune/
Tycoon donates entire fortune, worth $1.2B – People’s Daily Online
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90776/90882/6960387.html
A real estate tycoon has donated all his assets of 8.2 billion yuan ($1.2 billion) to charity, making him China’s top philanthropist.
Yu Pengnian, an 88-year-old Shenzhen hotel and real estate entrepreneur, on Thursday donated his remaining fortune worth 3.2 billion yuan to the Yu Pengnian Foundation — a charity named after him.
The amount, plus what he had donated before, raised the value of the Hong Kong-registered fund to $1.2 billion.
“This will be my last donation. I have nothing more to give away,” he said.
“It will all be for charity, no part of it will be inherited by anyone, no part will be used to do business or for investments,” he told reporters.
The foundation now has $260 million in bank deposits and a Hong Kong and Shenzhen property portfolio worth nearly $1 billion, which is expected to contribute an additional $50 million each year to the foundation.
The foundation, which is mandated to make donations to health, education and disaster relief, has so far funded over 150,000 cataract removal operations across China since 2003 and helped establish a number of Project Hope schools in the western rural areas.
Yu topped the latest Hurun Philanthropy List, released on Thursday, as he has done for five consecutive years for donating $910 million over the period.
Yu – ranked 432nd on the 2009 Hurun Rich List – said he hoped his move would encourage other Chinese billionaires to do more, adding his fortune paled in comparison to some other magnates in Hong Kong and on the Chinese mainland.
“My fortune is just a drop in the bucket compared to them but I have a point of view that is very different from others, I will not leave my fortune to my children,” he said.
“If my children are more capable than me, it’s not necessary to leave a lot of money to them. If they are incompetent, a lot of money will only be harmful to them,” said Yu, who has been dubbed “China’s Carnegie” for his consistent donations over the past two decades.
He added his children agree with him on this point.
Having built his business from scratch, Yu attributed his philanthropic motivation to the hardship he underwent when he was young.
He has made special donations to patients with cataracts because he once suffered from the same disease. “I like to support the poor because I used to be poor and I understand the misery of the poor people,” he said.
Yu still works long hours every day and spends two-thirds of his time doing charity, said Peng Zhibing, an assistant.
For the past few years, Yu has even been traveling to China’s western poor regions to give money to those in need.
“Providing timely help to the really poor and making them live better are my aim and wish,” he said.
Source:China Daily