Despite the diminutive frame, Li Ka-shing is by any measure one of the giants of the business world. A refugee in wartime Hong Kong, he went on to establish an empire that controls ports at both ends of the Panama Canal, produces oil in the United States and operates telecommunications in the UK. Hailed as one of the greatest entrepreneurs in history, this is the Li Ka-shing story.
I have been very fortunate. When I was young I enjoyed studying. I wasn’t even 10 when I got into junior high. I was working and studying at the same time. So it was a race against time to learn more. I started my own business in 1950. I only had some of my savings and some money borrowed from my relatives. I had about US$6500 to start my business.