Yu Pengnian
Wen | Feng Ma Niu (WeChat public number: Feng Lun Feng Ma Niu)
HuRun once said: I have been observing China's private economy, and in the history of the private economy, Mr. Yu Pengnian will definitely be written into it.
Yu Pengnian is a famous Chinese entrepreneur and "China's most generous philanthropist". A self-made man, he suffered from human ills in his early years, and once went to prison, brushed toilets, pulled rickshaws, and even drifted on the streets and almost died tragically. Relying on a spirit of denial of life, Yu Pengnian started from the lowest level of handyman, and eventually became a billionaire with the real estate business.
Since the 1980s, Yu Peng has been engaged in charitable giving. He was named one of the "World's 14 Largest Philanthropists" by Time magazine in the United States, and topped the Hurun China Charity List for five consecutive times from 2006 to 2010. Before his death in 2015, Yu Pengnian donated more than a billion US dollars in assets and was called "the first naked donor in China" by the media. Yu Pengnian said: I would rather help the people of the world than live up to the people of the world to help me. I want to take the lead in China!
1
Yu Pengnian, also known as Peng Lishan, was born in 1922 to a merchant family in Lianyuan City, Hunan Province.
Yu Pengnian's father entered the mall from an early age, and after decades of business hardships, he was shot and nearly killed during the warlord melee. When Yu Peng was young, Lianyuan was flooded again, and the family of eight and their houses and property were all washed away by the flood. After the flood, with the full support of the people in his hometown, Yu Pengnian was able to rebuild his home. Before Yu Pengnian's father died of illness, he once told his children in front of the bed, "If you have a chance in the future, you must not forget the kindness of your father and fellow villagers and do a few good things for your hometown." Therefore, Yu Pengnian has always been full of gratitude in his heart, and in an interview, he once said, "If it were not for the help of everyone to rebuild my home, I would not be where I am today."
Due to the difficulties of life, Yu Pengnian did not graduate from university and engaged in small business in Changsha and other places, but in the years of war and chaos, he gained very little.
In 1949, Yu Pengnian left his hometown and went to the beach alone, but the development was not smooth. In addition to pulling rickshaws, he also set up stalls and worked various odd jobs. Yu Pengnian once wrote a calligraphic painting describing this period of time, "Shopping malls are like battlefields, from north to south, from east to west, defeat dangyang, Benxiakou, lost Xinye, walking Fancheng, there is no place to live." However, Yu Pengnian was quite proud of his short career as a journalist, "I scolded corrupt officials very badly, and they were afraid when they saw me."
In December 1954, Yu Pengnian, who had experienced several ups and downs, had just gained a foothold in Shanghai, and a sudden disaster left him with nothing. He was falsely accused of having "overseas connections" and of being a "fugitive landlord." In that particular era, it was fatal, so Yu Pengnian was sentenced to three years in prison and his hard-earned savings were confiscated.
During his imprisonment, the prison leaders saw that Yu Pengnian had performed well, so they no longer let him engage in heavy manual labor, but arranged for him to read the prisoner's letter from outside the prison, classify it and distribute it. Yu Pengnian read every letter from the prison very carefully. This is a very interesting work, from which he can see through the coldness of the world, the cold and warm of human feelings, and also understand human nature.
Yu Pengnian said, "When you are really unlucky, the so-called friendship, love, and husband and wife love are all so vulnerable. In order to protect yourself to the maximum, former friends, lovers and couples will even fall into the well and put another knife in your wound. Therefore, a person's most important weapon is self-improvement, and a strong person who stands on his own in society will not be abandoned by others and let others slaughter him." Therefore, Yu Pengnian vowed: After getting out of prison, you must be a real strong person!
Two months before the expiration of his sentence, Yu Pengnian was released early because the crime was not proven. This unpleasant experience led him to decide to leave his hometown and make a makeover and start over. In 1958, with the help of friends, Yu Pengnian came to Hong Kong through Macau to work hard, and changed his name from Peng Lishan to Yu Pengnian.
When he first arrived in Hong Kong, Yu Pengnian did not know Cantonese and English, had no background and money, and could not find a job. Hungry, he went to churches and charities to fill his stomach with porridge, and when he was sleepy, he slept on a park or a bench by the sea, and this lasted for months. During this period, Yu Pengnian was beaten for a thief and imprisoned as a stowaway. But this did not make him lose his fighting spirit, and Yu Pengnian continued to look for a job and learn Cantonese as always.
Finally, Yu Pengnian found a job scrubbing toilets in a hotel, and he was self-motivated to do his best even if he scrubbed toilets. Despite this, he saved money every day, insisting on buying two or three copies of the newspaper left over from the day at night to study and look for opportunities. Yu Pengnian said, "Only those who can do small things can do big things, and only those who can bend down can stand up straight."
In the following days, Yu Pengnian successively worked as a road sweeper, a construction site handyman, a newspaper printer, and a book wholesale business, and also suffered a lot. When recalling the hardships of life at that time, Yu Pengnian said: If you don't work hard, you can't live, you can't survive, otherwise you won't be able to pick up gold everywhere in Hong Kong, and you still have to struggle.
"The emperor is worthy of the heart", Yu Pengnian's efforts and self-motivation were finally appreciated by a real estate boss. In the early 1960s, Taiwan began to engage in real estate construction, and Yu Pengnian followed the boss into the Taiwan real estate market and got further experience. Subsequently, the boss let Yu Pengnian organize his own company to run the real estate industry and concurrently engage in tourism in the form of "separate capital contribution, equal division of profits between the two sides". Yu Pengnian, who is middle-aged, finally dug up the "first bucket of gold" in his life.
At that time, the whole of Hong Kong was immersed in the frenzy of stock speculation and wealth, and Yu Pengnian could not help but buy a lot of stocks, and as a result, with the stock market crash in 1967, Yu Pengnian lost 20 million Hong Kong dollars and left the market, almost returning to the original point.
After the stock market crash, Yu Pengnian returned to the real estate industry he was familiar with, waiting for an opportunity to make a comeback. The lesson of this stock speculation is undoubtedly profound, and for a long time after that, Yu Pengnian did not dare to touch the stock again, not only that, he also did not allow his employees to buy stocks and immediately fired once they were discovered. This rule was not broken until the 2008 global financial crisis.
Opportunities are always favored by people who are prepared and can be bold enough to seize. Don't dare to give it a go, you will never achieve great things.
In 1973, when kung fu superstar Bruce Lee died, he left a mansion in Hong Kong. Hong Kong people believe in feng shui, believing that there will be disasters in the murderous house, and no one dares to buy it for a while. Yu Pengnian borrowed HK$700,000 from the bank, added his own savings to buy the house, and rented it out to foreigners, together with the renovation, for a total of only HK$1 million. By the time it raised money for the earthquake in 2008 to auction the land, it was worth HK$100 million. Similarly, in 1975, the mistress of a leader of a country living in Hong Kong died, and Yu Pengnian also spent HK$2.5 million to renovate and rent her mansion. In 1995, the house appreciated to HK$80 million. After that, Yu Peng judged the situation and sold the house.
Yu Pengnian's business judgment in these two transactions has made him a legend in hong Kong's business community. At that time, when people talked about Yu Pengnian, they thought that he had a hard life and could hold his breath.
Of course, Yu Pengnian's vision is not only to dare to boldly buy a murderous house, but also to develop real estate projects. Yu Pengnian caught up with the golden age of Hong Kong real estate, successively owning many assets in Hong Kong, such as Hong Kong Yuen Long Bo'ai Hospital, Yuen Chang Property Co., Ltd., Yi Lang Limited and Plaza Premium Hotel, and was already a billionaire in the 1980s.
The most proud stroke of Yu Pengnian's business field was to turn to the Shenzhen real estate market in his later years. In 1990, Yu Pengnian predicted that Shenzhen would be the most valuable city for real estate investment in the whole of China, so he gradually reduced his investment in Hong Kong, Taiwan and overseas, and concentrated it on Shenzhen. Yu Pengnian established Fuhua (Shenzhen) Real Estate Development Co., Ltd., and thus began to build large-scale projects such as Pengnian Plaza and the five-star Pengnian Hotel.
It is worth mentioning that the 57-storey Pengnian Hotel was the third tallest building in Shenzhen at that time and the most luxurious hotel in Shenzhen. However, 26 days before the soft opening of the Pengnian Hotel, Yu Pengnian made a surprising move that surprised everyone. He announced that the net profits from the operation of the whole building would be donated permanently to social welfare and education; in his lifetime, the whole building would not be sold and would not be sold; after a hundred years, the property rights of the whole building would not be donated or inherited, and the profits from the operation would continue to be donated free of charge until the end of the period of use of the building. This move allowed Yu Pengnian to truly enter the public eye, and the Pengnian Hotel was known as the only "charity hotel" in China before it opened.
Today, the facts have proved that Yu Pengnian's advanced vision, Shenzhen house prices compared to 1990 do not know how many times.
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"My son is weaker than me, what do you keep the money for?" My son is stronger than me, what do you do with the money? Instead of leaving money for your children and grandchildren to spend their days and drinks, it is better to enjoy doing good deeds yourself. I like to help the poor directly, and I can't see the poor sad. Doing good is my way of being healthy."
Not only can Yu Pengnian do a good job, he is also "China's most generous philanthropist", topped the Hurun China Charity List for five consecutive times from 2006 to 2010.
In 1982, Yu Pengnian returned to his hometown in Hunan for the first time, and he was very uncomfortable to see that his hometown was in a mess of poverty. Since then, he has been engaged in charitable giving in the mainland. Yu Pengnian has donated funds to build Lishan Middle School, Lishan Dam, Changsha Wuyi Square Tunnel Project, Changsha Railway Station Large Lantern Fountain, Peng Lishan Ambulance Center, Peng Lishan Luxury Bus Line, Peng Lishan Changsha Welfare Foundation... In the 1980s alone, donations totaled more than RMB60 million to Hunan Province.
Doing charity was originally a good thing, but in the process, some people's actions made Yu Pengnian feel very chilled. In 1988, he donated 10 imported Mitsubishi ambulances to a hospital in Hunan Province, which were equipped with state-of-the-art instruments and equipment. Donate 10 vehicles at a time, which was not available in China at that time. But in the end, Yu Pengnian found that the ambulances had been converted into office vehicles by local officials.
In an interview, Yu Pengnian said: There is an old saying in Hunan called "it is difficult to open the door of goodness, and it is difficult to do good things." Doing good is actually harder than doing business, and unpleasant things often happen. My donation to society is for the purpose of saving lives and helping the injured, so this act is unforgivable. I've been doing good for more than 50 years with hard-earned money from working outside, which discourages me. After some lessons, I had to guard against some disgraceful practices. Only when the money for good deeds is truly handed over to the hands of the people can I be assured. I don't want the money I donated to end up going into the pockets of some privileged people, nor do I want me to donate 100 yuan, and in the end only twenty or thirty yuan can be sent to the people, while the other seventy or eighty yuan will flow to other places.
Since then, in order to ensure that no one has plucked their own donations, and to profit from them, whether it is donating money or donating goods, Yu Pengnian must personally supervise, strictly review, and truly donate to the hands of the poor and weak. Yu Pengnian said, "Only in this way can corruption and waste be eliminated to the greatest extent possible."
Since the 1990s, Yu Pengnian has slowly expanded the scope of philanthropic activities from Hunan to the whole country, and he founded the Yu Pengnian Charity Foundation, which is tireless in philanthropy, the most well-known public welfare project is "Peng Nian Guangming Action". It is a nationwide charity campaign for people who need cataract surgery but can't afford it. As of 2019, the Pengnian Guangming Action has traveled to 28 provinces and cities across the country, providing free surgery for nearly 500,000 cataract patients.
In 2010, Yu Pengnian was invited to attend a charity dinner hosted by Bill Gates and Buffett in China. At the scene, Yu Pengnian announced that all the assets totaling HK$9.3 billion were entrusted to hsbc in Hong Kong, and all of them would be used for charity after 100 years, becoming "the first naked donor in China". Some Hong Kong media have called Yu Pengnian China's "Nobel": Nobel rewarded outstanding people with his legacy, and Yu Pengnian donated his personal wealth to people in need without asking for anything in return. They are equally great.
For the decision of "naked donation", Yu Pengnian said: I am a person who does not gamble, does not prostitute, does not take drugs, and has played in the world for fifty or sixty years, making hard money and not easy, so it is better to simply donate it to do something meaningful. My sons and grandchildren are working for me, and I give them a house and a car, and I pay them a monthly salary, which is no lower than the other employees. They are living very well, and they are many times stronger than when I went to Hong Kong to fight the world with my bare hands. After I die, they can still work and be completely self-sufficient, and I don't have to leave so much money for them. If they have the ability, even if I don't keep the money, they will develop very well. If they don't have the ability, no matter how much money I keep, it will be useless. It is a shame for a person to die in wealth, I do not want to die in shame, I want to die in glory, and the greatest glory of a person is to give away his possessions to do good.
Most people who do charity seek returns, have a purpose, and do not do without returns, but Yu Pengnian does not seek returns. He said: I am not interested in serving the government, but I am realizing the "Chinese Dream" in my own unique way, that is, "the country is rich and the people are strong, so that the poor people can live better, and The Chinese culture can go to the world." Doing good is not my business alone, and I can't do it alone. But I want to take the lead, expand my influence, and attract overseas Chinese, overseas compatriots, and rich people to do good. As long as it really works, I'm happy. But everyone's point of view is different, and other rich people cannot be forced to donate naked.
3
Compared with the atmosphere and generosity of charity, Yu Pengnian in life is diligent and thrifty.
Yu Pengnian had only one suit, a few patches on the cuffs, and a short-sleeved shirt that he had worn more than twenty years ago, which was still stored in his closet, which he said was a reasonable use. In addition to socializing, Yu Pengnian went to the company's canteen every day to eat working meals with employees, and his true colors did not change. On the wall of the canteen, there is his handwritten words: against waste, rather than one more time. However, Yu Pengnian was particularly generous to his friends and fellow villagers, often sending them Pengnian hotel consumption cards, saying "eat and live as you like".
Yu Pengnian died in Shenzhen in May 2015 at the age of 93. In accordance with Yu Pengnian's last wishes, the Yu Pengnian Charity Foundation is still moving forward on the road of charity. At the memorial service, Song Chuyu, Lee Shau Kee, Hu Run, Xu Yangsheng, president of the University of Chinese of Hong Kong (Shenzhen) and other celebrities from all walks of life sent tears to the immortals. In Yu Pengnian's hometown in Hunan, tens of thousands of people spontaneously organized mourning. A leader of Hunan Province commented: "Mr. Lao (Yu Pengnian) is the pride of Hunan people, and we have lost a kind elder who loves and is very virtuous. He "donated naked" to do charity, the road of great love, and dared to be the first. The whole society is reluctant to this diligent, interesting, and kind old man, and will remember this person who has paid a sincere dedication to China's charity.
In Yu Pengnian's office, there was a calligraphy work hanging like this, "There is only icing on the cake in the world, where to find charcoal in the snow?" It is difficult to ascend to heaven, it is even more difficult to ask for people, Huang Lian is bitter, it is even more difficult to ask for people, people are self-exalted without seeking quality, and helping others to do good is the basis of happiness."
Sources
1. The official website of Yu Pengnian Charity Foundation
2. Yu Pengnian, doing good is a kind of inner happiness, Chinese businessman, Sun Ming
3. Yu Pengnian: Why I was the first naked donor, Chinese philanthropist, Ni Ni
4. Yu Pengnian's Chinese Dream, China Economic Weekly, Zou Xilan
5. From toilet washer to billionaire, China's most generous philanthropist Yu Pengnian, Celebrity Biography (first half of the month), Wu Guoqiang Cheng Juanjuan
6. Yu Pengnian, Angry Charity, Chinese Entrepreneur, Liu Jianqiang
7. China's first Good Yu PengNian, Chinese Times, Tang Guoji
8. Tribute to Yu Pengnian, who fell out of the rich list, China Youth Daily, Mao Jianguo
9. What Yu Pengnian left behind, Hunan Daily, Ouyang Jinyu
10. Yu Pengnian memorial service held in Shenzhen 6 billion assets "naked donation", Dai Peng, Yu Zhenyu, Sanxiang Metropolis Daily
11. Yu Pengnian's "naked donation" property will be used for free cataract surgery and education, Southern Metropolis Daily, Liu Ying, Zhu Ling, Chen Ming
12. Yu Pengnian, a well-known philanthropist, died in Peking University Shenzhen Hospital and donated his full fortune in will, Shenzhen News Network
13. Yu Pengnian: Let 400,000 people see the light again, People's Daily, Zhao Wanna, Ding Feng, Zhang Nan
14. Yu Pengnian, a rich man on the charity list: Billionaire becomes a full-time philanthropist, CCTV "News Room"
Image from the web
The author of this article | Wang Tao, chief editor of the army|
Editor| Chen Runjiang Consultant | Wang Shuqi