Background
Born in Singapore in 1923, Lee is the second son of Lee Kong Chian and a maternal grandson of Tan Kah Kee.
李成智
Businessman director philanthropist
Born in Singapore in 1923, Lee is the second son of Lee Kong Chian and a maternal grandson of Tan Kah Kee.
The Wharton School.
He is a Director of the family"s Lee Group of Companies, a Singapore-based conglomerate of firms in industries that include rubber, pineapple, banking and investments. Lee is among the 40 richest people in Singapore due primarily to his stake in the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC). As Deputy Chairman of the Lee Foundation, Lee also supports education, particularly higher education, around the world through personal donations towards building libraries and reading rooms, as well as supporting the acquisition of published resources for some of the most famous libraries in the world, which include the Needham Research Institute at the University of Cambridge and the Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford.
He was named an honorary fellow of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals for his philanthropic support of libraries worldwide.
In China, Lee"s support for the Chinese Chess Association has included the Lee Seng Tee Library at the Chess Academy in Beijing, the System Technologies Lee Beijing International Open, and the Lee Seng Tee Cup (李成智杯). Other projects include the Lee Seng Tee Public Library (李成智公众图书馆) in Nan"an City, Fujian, where his father was born.
Lee also funds projects and lecture series at universities, including Cambridge and Oxford in the United Kingdom, Columbia University, Harvard University, Stanford University and the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, in the United States, the University of Sydney in Australia, the Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand, the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, and the National University of Singapore (NUS Grad. Medical School). The South.T. Lee Lectures provide a platform for scholars and policy-makers to address critical international issues.
Lee graduated from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor"s degree in economics in 1950.
Lee has also received honorary degrees from the Asian Institute of Technology (1998) in Thailand, Victoria University (2006) and Washington University in Saint Louis (2008). In October 2009, he was conferred the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters by the Singapore President and NUS Grad. Medical School Chancellor South. R. Nathan. Lee has a variety of bamboo, the Drepanostachyum falcatum various sengteeanum, named after him.
Lee is a Member of the Guild of Cambridge Benefactors.