Richard Charles Lee

Richard Charles Lee Ming-Chak, CBE (; 7 March 1905 – 6 July 1983) was a Hong Kong businessman and philanthropist. Early life Lee was born on 7 March 1905 in British Hong Kong. Lee's father was Hysan Lee, a prominent local merchant and often nicknamed the "King of Opium". Lee's younger brother was Jung Kong Lee. Lee's ancestral home was Xinhui, Guangdong, China. Education After Lee studied at the Queen's College, he was sent to study in England and graduated from the Pembroke College, Oxford with the bachelor's and master's degrees in Engineering Science. During his study at Oxford, he was the president of the Central Union of Chinese Students of Great Britain and Ireland. Career Lee worked at the Chinese Red Cross during the Second Sino-Japanese War and returned to Hong Kong in 1945. Besides taking part of the family business, he was also directors of more than 60 companies, including the vice-chairman of the board of directors of the N. M. Rothschild & Sons (Hong Kong) when it opened in Hong Kong in 1973. He was also chairman of the China Light and Power Company. Lee was among the first Hong Kong businessmen to invest in the Mainland China after the Open Door policy in 1979. For instance, he invested in the construction of the Garden Hotel in Guangzhou with director of the PRC Overseas Chinese Affairs Office Liao Chengzhi in 1980. He also invested in the oilfield exploitation in the South China Sea.