The life story of Li Ka-shing, Hong Kong's richest man

The story of Li Ka-shing's rise from poverty to wealth is simply unbelievable. As a child he had to drop out of school to provide financial support for his family, but later became one of the richest men in the world. He opened his first factory when he was only 22 years old, and within a few years he achieved great success as a manufacturer, contractor, businessman and investor. He is currently investing heavily in technology. He was one of the first businessmen to invest heavily in Facebook at the time. In March 2015, it continued its investments by purchasing the British telecom company O2 for 15 billion dollars. So how did Li Ka-shing achieve all these achievements? What was his life like when he was younger and what is he doing now? Here are the answers to all these questions:

Li Ka-shing had to deal with financial problems from an early age. His family fled from Southern China to Hong Kong during World War II. However, when Li was still very young, his father died of tuberculosis. After that, Li had to drop out of school and start working in a factory before he was even 16 years old.

During the four years that Hong Kong was under Japanese occupation, he sent 90% of his salary to his mother. Perhaps, thanks to being the breadwinner of the family from a young age, his human side has improved a lot; As it is known, Li is mentioned a lot with his charitable works today.

As a child, his work had a profound effect on Li. Li said: “It doesn't matter how strong or skillful you are; The important thing is to have a heart. If you don't have a heart, you can't be successful."

Opening his first factory in 1950 at the age of 22, Li attracted the attention of many as a leader and visionary. The factory named Cheung Kong Industries was producing plastic flowers. Li thought the plastics industry would grow a lot, and he was right.

Li attributes the success of Cheung Kong, which he founded with a capital of only $50,000, to following all the changes in the industry. “The relationship between knowledge and business today is extremely important for success.” He also emphasizes that it is essential to constantly improve himself.

Although he dropped out of school at a very young age and never went to college, Li improved himself by constantly reading books and learned a lot on his own. For example, in the first year of Cheung Kong, he kept the accounting books of the factory alone. Moreover, he had no accounting experience, he had learned everything from textbooks on his own.

According to Li, besides knowledge, loyalty and reputation are extremely important for success. In an interview with Forbes magazine in 2006, he said about this issue: "If I said 'yes' to someone, the job was done, the contract was signed."

In 1956, an offer was made to him, according to which he would make 30% more profit from his sales, and also get the opportunity to expand his factory. However, she turned down the offer because she had previously agreed with someone else. Despite all the years that have passed, Li never compromised on his sense of loyalty, and continued to keep his promises even if he lost money.

Li's first step towards the future was to enter the plastics industry. In 1979, he bought the Hutchison Whampoa company and entered the contracting business. In this way, Li became a real estate baron before Hong Kong even made its way into the world arena.

In fact, Li is commonly known as a contractor, but his own firms also manage 70% of the city's port traffic, as well as many electricity utilities and telecommunications services. Li is also the largest shareholder of Canada-based Husky Energy. Investing his wealth and power in various sectors in different parts of the world, Li shows us that he is not afraid to sail to new places.

By strategically managing his assets, Li Ka-shing manages to preserve his wealth no matter the state of the economy. It also acts by making reasonable predictions about the course of the economy. “I am not overly optimistic when the market is good, and I am not pessimistic when it is bad.” From his words, it is possible to understand Li's attitude towards the economy.

Despite being very wealthy, Li still maintains the frugal habit he acquired as a child. In line with his zero debt policy, the companies he owns try not to borrow as much as possible. Li himself also buys all his properties using his own money, so he does not go into personal debt.

Li likes to spend his money on logical and technological investments, not on ostentation. He always tries his best to lead a simple and unpretentious life. For example, in the 90s, he only wore a 100-lira wristwatch.

Perhaps one of the most important reasons why Li is so successful is that he does his job with passion. In an interview with Forbes magazine in 2010, he emphasized his dedication to his job, saying, "The biggest fun for me is to work hard and make a profit."