‘So, just stay put when the going gets rough’
Pollyanna Chu Li Yuet-wah, chief executive of Hong Konglisted Kingston Financial Group, was named by Forbes in January as Hong Kong’s richest woman and the SAR’s 14 th wealthiest individual, with her personal net worth having tripled in the past two years to $4.8 billion.
What is it like sitting on such a vast fortune that’s probably too far-fetched for almost anyone to attain in his or her lifetime?
The modest, 59-year-old entrepreneur says she’s humbled by the honor. “I’m just grateful for it,” adding there might be other people who are much richer and have yet to be recognized, and this has encouraged her to think about how to improve the company’s business in future.
Reminiscing about how her efforts have paid off in seeing Kingston Financial grow, Chu says that besides hard work, it’s important to seize the opportunities in the market, stand still while the market is low and get set to bounce back when the time comes plus, of course, a bit of luck.
Besides her hectic business life, Chu wears many hats — in the political, academic, social and charity spheres. Among her galaxy of roles, she’s a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the nation’s top political advisory body; sits on the Sun Yat-sen University advisory board, and had served as vice-chairman and director of the Po Leung Kuk — Hong Kong’s largest charitable organization providing support for orphaned children and other welfare, educational, cultural and recreational services.
“My life is very simple. Most of the time, I’m immersed in work, the community and networking. For leisure, I enjoy hiking, travel and eating. I hope to spend more time with my family in the near future.”
Being diligent, Chu says, is one of the younger generation’s biggest attributes. For the financial services industry, especially, being a rolling stone is a setback and she would give them a “discount” for doing so.