Who is Ming-Wai Lau? The business tycoon who donated £10 million to King’s College London
Kind of rogue but he used to run a theme park
A Hong Kongese business tycoon and former KCL alum named Ming-Wai Lau has donated £10 million to King’s College London.
Ming-Wai Lau is the son of Hong Kong tycoon Joseph Lau and the chairman of property and finance at Chinese Estate Holdings, a business founded by his father, according to Tatler Asia.
So, who really is the man behind his tycoon persona?
He’s a verified Instagram travel blogger
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Ming-Wai clearly loves to jet all around the world from Paris to the Grand Canyon.
Even his Insta bio is: “I have more baggage than airlines.”
His grid is full of stunning images of different landscapes such as mountains and city scenes, and honestly, I must say I’m quite jealous.
He literally used to run Hong Kong’s biggest theme park
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Who better to sponsor King’s College London than a guy who ensures the smooth operation of rollercoasters?
He even has an Instagram highlight titled “Ocean Park” – a major tourist attraction in Hong Kong which shows his followers all about the day to day runnings of the park, staff members, and new attractions.
According to its website, it aims to be an educational centre with a focus on conservation.
It’s giving real life Rollercoaster Tycoon.
He’s also a humanitarian and Harvard lecturer
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It has been reported that Ming-Wai has previously donated more than £500,000 to create 250 homes for children left behind in rural areas of mainland China by their migrant worker parents.
In addition, he has appeared at Harvard University as a guest lecturer in a conversation series of The Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations (HPAIR).
So, why did he donate to King’s and what is the Lau China Institute?
Well firstly, he’s a former student, so there’s that and it’s clear he invests in matters close to his heart.
The Lau China Institute at King’s College London is a global centre for the research of contemporary China. It was established in 2011 and raises importance of China and why to study it.
It also offers a postgraduate taught course of China and Globalisation MSc and the aim of the Institute is to “focus on the politics, economics and society of the world’s second biggest economy.”
Other partnerships of the Lau China Institute include: Dialogue Earth, The Young China Watchers, and The Journal of Current Chinese Affairs.
However, King’s College London does not state exactly how they collaborate with these organisations or if there are donations made by these partnerships and how much.
Feature Image Credit: Instagram