Lui Che-woo, a prominent Hong Kong entrepreneur and philanthropist, died at the age of 95 on Nov 7.

Lui was chairman and founder of property developer K Wah Group, and the Macao-based Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd. The two multinational conglomerates announced the news on Monday.

Born in 1929 in Jiangmen, Guangdong province, Lui came to Hong Kong at the age of 5, when his hometown was occupied by Japanese invaders. His childhood was marked by hardship during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong in the 1940s, which instilled in him a deep commitment to patriotism and philanthropy.

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Lui’s business acumen became evident with his strategic investments in Hong Kong’s emerging Kwun Tong area during the construction boom of the 1950s. He expanded into property investment in the 1960s, the hotel industry in the 1980s, and Macao’s burgeoning gambling market in 2002.

Under Lui’s leadership, Galaxy Entertainment Group became the first gaming company to be listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, in 2005.

In 2012, Lui was awarded the Grand Bauhinia Medal, the highest award under the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Honours and Awards System.

His decades-long philanthropic efforts spanned sectors such as medical care, education, information technology, and hotel and tourism, including sponsoring the construction and renovation of 122 primary and secondary schools in seven Chinese mainland provinces.

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His charitable works gained prominence with the establishment of the Lui Che Woo Prize — Prize for World Civilization, in 2015. This first-of-its-kind international prize honors and recognizes individuals or organizations who have unselfishly promoted world civilization.

In a 2016 interview with China Daily Hong Kong Edition, Lui expressed great expectations for the new prize. “Since I had dropped out of school during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, that prompted me to offer help to the poor and underprivileged, especially in the areas of education and medical care, over the years,” said Lui, then 87.

From 2016 to 2019, the Lui Che Woo Prize honored 12 laureates, including notable figures such as Chinese agronomist Yuan Longping and US biochemist Jennifer Doudna, and organizations like Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) and the International Paralympic Committee.

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In June, Lui received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu at the “2023-2024 You Bring Charm to the World” Award Ceremony. He celebrated his 95th birthday with a grand gala dinner in Hong Kong in late September.

In a statement, Lee expressed sorrow over Lui’s passing and extended deepest condolences to Lui’s family, praising him for his devotion to promoting philanthropic and education causes around the world, particularly the education of young people and the development of technology.

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Both K Wah Group and Galaxy Entertainment Group expressed deep sorrow over their founder’s passing, praising his vision, leadership, and foundational role in their development.