Lee Shau-kee, founder of Henderson and the ‘Fourth Uncle’ to Hongkongers, dies at age 97

Henderson Land Development’s founder Lee Shau-kee, one of Hong Kong’s wealthiest developers and biggest philanthropists, died on Monday. He was 97.

Lee died peacefully, surrounded by his family, the company said in a statement.

The entrepreneur, known affectionately as “Fourth Uncle” by his staff and associates, built a business empire comprising seven Hong Kong-listed companies with a combined market value of HK$551 billion (US$71 billion) as of March 17, with interests in real estate, hotels, piped gas and a ferry operation.

Before his retirement, Lee was the chairman of The Hong Kong and China Gas Company, also known as Towngas. He was an executive director of Henderson Investment and a non-executive director of Miramar Hotel and Investment and Hong Kong Ferry (Holdings). He was also vice-chairman of Sun Hung Kai Properties until November 2020.