Michael Kadoorie
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Sir Michael David Kadoorie, GBS, born 1941 in Hong Kong, is a business executive, one of the world's foremost tycoons and philanthropists. In early 2007, he is the fourth wealthiest person in Hong Kong and Greater China Region, after Li Ka Shing, Lee Shau Kee and Kwok's Brothers, with his wealth worth 9 billion US dollars.
The son of business tycoon Lord Kadoorie (Lawrence Kadoorie) (1899-1993) and his wife, Muriel Gubbay, Michael Kadoorie was educated at Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland before going on to university. His family’s roots in business in the Far East go back to his grandfather who first settled in Shanghai in 1880. A Jewish immigrant from Bombay, India, and a descendant of Iraqi Jews originally from Baghdad, his grandfather made a fortune in Shanghai and Hong Kong through opium trading, real estate and utilities. Headquartered in Hong Kong soon after 1949, Michael Kadoorie's father and uncle successfully expanded the family businesses into a sprawling empire of diversified corporations.
Michael Kadoorie is the Chairman of CLP Research Institute and CLP Holdings Ltd. which his family founded in 1890 and in which they still hold a 35% stake. The utility company provides electricity to 75% of Hong Kong and has equity interests in power plants in India, mainland China, southeast Asia and Australia. He is also the Chairman of The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, owners of the world-renowned Peninsula Hotel, Metrojet Limited, Heliservices (Hong Kong) Limited and Tai Ping Carpets Intl. He holds a number of directorships in other companies as well. He has been a member of the Council of the University of Hong Kong since 1993 and in 2000, the Kadoorie Biological Sciences Building opened at the university. In 2004, the University of Hong Kong awarded him an honorary LLD.
A renowned philanthropist and trustee of the Kadoorie Charitable Foundation, Michael Kadoorie was made an Officer of the Legion of Honor by the government of France and a Commander of the Order of Léopold II of Belgium.
A photography buff and a discerning collector of Chinese works of art, Kadoorie is also a helicopter pilot and a fan of exotic cars. He is the owner of a number of rare automobiles including a type 57 Bugatti, a 1932 Phantom II Thrupp & Maberly, a 1934 Hispano-Suiza J12 Van Vooren Cabriolet, a 1936 Mercedes-Benz 500K, a 1969 P400 S Miura Lamborghini and a Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost. In 1998, he spent two months recovering from serious injuries at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, England after having an accident in his vintage Ferrari when the spokes in one of the rebuilt wheels tore through the tire.
On the Forbes 2004 List of billionaires, Michael Kadoorie is ranked 122nd in the world.
He was given a knighthood, as a Knight Bachelor, in the Queen's Birthday Honours List on 11th June 2005.
He lives in Hong Kong with his wife and three children.
