From toilet cleaner to billionaire

Yu Pengnian was born into an intellectual family in Hunan province in 1922. At the age of twenty-three, he moved with his relatives to Shanghai to do business. In 1955, China’s land reform, he was considered a bourgeois, so he had to go to work for 3 years in Anhui.

At the end of the rehabilitation period, Yu Peng Nian went to Hong Kong to set up a business. Here, he did all kinds of jobs, from a worker, a porter, a delivery man, and then a cleaning worker toilet public, the job was considered the lowest in Hong Kong at that time.

However, this man did not mind the contempt of others. “If you care about criticism, you don’t have the mind to do the job,” he said. While others just finished the job, Du became “Hong Kong’s cleanest toilet cleaner”.

In 1970, thanks to the recommendation of a former boss, Du went to Taiwan to do real estate business. He later invested in stocks and real estate in Hong Kong. Continuously achieving success, Du Peng Nien gradually promoted and became the chairman of the famous Foo Tak real estate company worth billions of dollars, the boss of a series of companies, hotels, healthcare, tourism. calendar… all over China.

One of Yu Peng Nian’s most famous deals was the purchase of Bruce Lee’s house. According to the concept of Hong Kong people at that time, the house of a celebrity, died at home, and became uninhabitable. However, Yu Peng Nien borrowed a bank loan to buy a 1,000-square-meter villa for more than one million USD. After the renovation, he leased it to foreigners and it took only a few years to recover the capital. In 1996, the mansion was priced at 70 million USD.

Du Peng Nian once shared the secret of success is to do the best job assigned. “Even if the job is considered lowly, for example cleaning the toilet, I still try to be the one who cleans the best,” he said.

The billionaire added, in work, setting big goals is necessary, but more importantly, focusing on small steps, short-term action plans to get there. “Success always has a beginning, that’s why you should start small things today with a serious and dedicated attitude,” Yu Peng Nian said.

Despite owning a huge fortune, this billionaire has a simple life. He never showed off his wealth, nor did he spend it lavishly. He lives at his hotel and eats a buffet every day.

For many years, Yu Pengnian has been at the top of Hurun Report’s list of philanthropists (a ranking of the wealthiest individuals in China). In 2007, his name was also on the list of the world’s largest philanthropists voted by the American Time magazine. In the early 2000s, he founded a charity that bears his name to support health care, education and disaster relief activities. Through the fund, he donated 25 million yuan to care for and improve people’s health.

The special thing is that this man is very interested in cataract patients. Since 2003, the charity he founded has provided free eye surgery to thousands of people in China. Du shared, because he also had cataracts, he understood the pain of people in the same situation.

When asked why he donated so much to health care services, billionaire Du said, it all comes from painful childhood memories. “I’ve seen many people die because the doctor didn’t come in time. I was determined to one day buy an ambulance to save lives.”

In 2010, Yu Peng Nian shocked when he announced that he would use all his assets worth 9.3 billion yuan ($2 billion) to charity after his death. When asked why he didn’t pass the inheritance to his children, he shared: “If the children are more capable than me, there is no need to give them a lot of money. If they are incompetent, more money will only be harmful. “. Someone also asked: “What’s the point of getting rich if you don’t save your wealth for your children and grandchildren?” Yu Peng Nian replied: “Getting rich is to unleash our full potential. And descendants are other individuals, they are self-sufficient. by living differently”.

For him, the best thing to leave for his children and grandchildren is not money, moreover, business is a field that enriches the community and brings benefits to society, not merely making money to serve individuals. core.

In 2015, billionaire Yu Peng Nian died in Shenzhen, at the age of 93.

Vy Trang (According to qq)