LEE KONG CHIAN: EDUCATIONALIST ENTREPRENEUR PHILANTHROPIST

Lee Kong Chian (1893–1967) is one of Singapore's most outstanding figures in the history of Singapore and Southeast Asia. This book is the first complete account of this great person, following him from childhood to his passing. He leaves behind a great legacy which will continue to impact the lives of countless numbers of people in Singapore and beyond. He came from a poor family, but he became a highly successful businessman and entrepreneur who founded several companies in Southeast Asia. He also co-founded the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation. He played a key role in the development of the region's economy, and his contributions helped to create jobs and stimulate growth. He was named the King of Rubber and the Pineapple King, and became one of the richest men in Southeast Asia in the 1950s to 1960s, and yet he lived a simple frugal lifestyle. Lee Kong Chian was a generous philanthropist who donated millions of dollars to charitable causes throughout his life. He used his personal money to start the Lee Foundation, which continues to donate to educational institutions, healthcare, and social welfare.

Contents:

• Early Life
• Career and Life Decisions
• Rubber
• Labour Relations
• Banking
• Political Vision
• A Humanitarian
• Legacy
• Down Memory Lane

Readership: General public, junior college and secondary school students, institutions and organisations affiliated to Lee Kong Chian, history teachers, historians.

Key Features:

• This is the first complete biography of Lee Kong Chian covering his early life and his entrepreneurial skills, and co-founding of Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation
• The book documents how many institutions namely the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, the National Library of Singapore, the Natural History Museum, the Singapore Business School, and several schools in Singapore and Malaysia, and the Xiamen University of China are named after this famous educationalist and philanthropist