Samuel Tak Lee

Lee was born in April 1939.[2] He was educated at Diocesan Boys' School in Mong Kok,[3] before earning bachelor's and master's degrees in civil and environmental engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1964.[4] Lee then earned an MBA from Harvard Business School.[5]

After finishing his studies, Lee returned to Hong Kong to join Prudential Enterprise, the real estate company founded by his father and uncle in 1958.[6][7] He took control of the entire business from his brother Lee Tak-Yan in 1985.[8] Prudential Enterprises owns the Prudential Hotel[9] in Hong Kong and has significant holdings in Hong Kong, Japan, Switzerland and Singapore.[10][11] In the UK, he purchased the 14 acre Langham Estate in London's Fitzrovia district in 1994.[12][13] A real estate portfolio Lee indirectly established in Tokyo in 1999 was eventually sold in 2017 for approximately $1.2 billion.[14][15][16][17][18]

By 2019 Lee had become the largest shareholder in Shaftesbury plc a large London real estate investment trust with a 26.3 per cent stake.[19][20][21] There had been persistent media speculation that Lee would eventually bid for control of Shaftesbury.[22][23][24] However, his interest in the company was sold to Capco for $544 million in June 2020.[25][26]

Lee has been noted for his vigorous defence of his estate’s legal rights and business interests.[8][12][27] In June 2019, The Times reported that Lee was suing Shaftesbury for £10.4 million in alleged losses over a share placing.[21]

According to Forbes, he had a net worth of $3.6 billion, as of January 2021.[1]

In 2007, Lee donated HK$9 million to Hong Kong's Diocesan Boys' School, of which he was a student between 1951 and 1958.[7] The donation was made to fund residential student growth with a new dormitory block for the school. One of Lee's sons was studying at the school at that time.[28][29]

In 2015, Lee donated $118 million to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to be used to establish a real estate entrepreneurship lab focused on China.[30] The lab has been researching the impact of poor urban air quality on residents' health, social lives and behaviour.[31][32]

Lee is married with seven children and lives between Hong Kong and London.[5] He reportedly owns the yachts Pelorus and Kogo.[33][34][35] The Lee family has a Boeing aircraft and a large car collection.[36][37][23]

Lee maintains a low profile and rarely speaks out about his many business dealings.[36] According to media reports and court documents Lee has a colourful personal life.[38][27][39][40]

It is also rumoured that either him or one of his 7 children owns the world's most expensive new car, the Rolls Royce Sweptail, costing around $12.8 million, along with some other extremely rare automobiles like two Ferrari F12 TRS, a Ferrari F50 GT, an Aston Martin One-77, a Ferrari F40 LM, a Ferrari FXX and FXX K, two McLaren F1 GTR LTs, and a Mercedes McLaren SLR Stirling Moss. [41]

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  Samuel Tak Lee Building at Diocesan Boys' School
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  Lee's Langham Estate Offices on Margaret Street, London
• 
  Samuel Tak Lee yacht Pelorus