(Yicai) March 18 -- Lee Shau-kee, founder of Henderson Land Development and one of Hong Kong's "Big Four" real estate magnates, has died. He was 97.

Lee passed away peacefully late yesterday, surrounded by his family, Henderson Land announced on the same day.

Lee was born in February 1928 in the city of Shunde in Guangdong province. He built his fortune from scratch after going to Hong Kong in 1948 and establishing Henderson Land in 1976.

"Lee was an outstanding business leader and entrepreneur who contributed significantly to promoting Hong Kong's economic development, prosperity, and stability," said John Lee, the city's Chief Executive.

"He was also a highly respected philanthropist who excelled in education and social services, including generous donations to many universities and higher education institutions in Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland over the years, enthusiastically supporting higher education development and talent cultivation," Lee noted.

Lee Shau-kee was renowned as one of Hong Kong's real estate market "Big Four" alongside Li Ka-shing, senior advisor of CK Hutchison Holdings and CK Asset Holdings, Cheng Yu-tung, the founder of New World Development who died in 2018, and Kwok Tak-seng, the founder of Sun Hung Kai Properties who passed away in 1990.

From 1995 to 1997, Lee ranked as the wealthiest Chinese person and richest individual in Asia on the Forbes richest people list. Last year, he ranked 63rd on Forbes Richest World's Billionaires list with a net worth of USD22.7 billion.

Henderson Land invested in and developed numerous iconic projects under Lee's leadership, including The Henderson business skyscraper, the International Finance Centre complex in Hong Kong, and the World Financial Center in Beijing.

Lee retired after stepping down as chairman of Henderson Land in May 2019. His sons Peter and Martin Lee took over as joint chairmen and managing directors. The company is one of Hong Kong's largest corporate groups and is the developer owning the most agricultural land in the city.

Editor: Martin Kadiev