Peter Woo Kwong-ching, GBM, GBS, JP (; born September 5, 1946) is a

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

billionaire A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least 1,000,000,000, one billion units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. It is a sub-category of the concept of the ultr ...

businessman. He was the chairman of

Wheelock and Company Wheelock and Company Limited is a Hong Kong–based financial real estate company. It was listed as No. 1249 on the Forbes 2000 list. The group's principal activities are property investment, property development, property management and age ...

and

The Wharf (Holdings) The Wharf (Holdings) Limited (), or Wharf (九倉) in short, is a company founded in 1886 in Hong Kong. As its name suggests, the company's original business was in running wharfage and dockside warehousing, and it was originally known as Th ...

until 19 May 2015. As of April 2021, his net worth is estimated to be $14 billion.

Education

Woo was born in

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

in 1946 with ancestral roots in

Ningbo Ningbo is a sub-provincial city in northeastern Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. It comprises six urban districts, two satellite county-level cities, and two rural counties, including several islands in Hangzhou Bay and the Eas ...

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

, and moved to

in 1949. He was educated at St Stephen's College, a

Direct Subsidy Scheme The Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) is instituted by the Education Bureau of Hong Kong to enhance the quality of private schools at the primary and secondary levels. The Hong Kong government has been encouraging non-government secondary schools wh ...

privately owned but government-funded boarding school (which is also Hong Kong's largest secondary school), in the town of

Stanley Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...

, and went on to attain his bachelor's degree from the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

, majoring in physics. While a student, Woo was senior class president, and became a member of

Delta Tau Delta Delta Tau Delta () is a United States–based international Greek letter college fraternity. Delta Tau Delta was founded at Bethany College, Bethany, Virginia, (now West Virginia) in 1858. The fraternity currently has around 130 collegiate chapt ...

fraternity, an endeavor he is still involved in today. He later obtained an MBA from

Columbia Business School Columbia Business School (CBS) is the business school of Columbia University, a Private university, private research university in New York City. Established in 1916, Columbia Business School is one of six Ivy League business schools and one of ...

in New York, US.

Life and career

After graduating, Woo worked at

Chase Manhattan Bank JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., doing business as Chase, is an American national bank headquartered in New York City that constitutes the consumer and commercial banking subsidiary of the U.S. multinational banking and financial services holding ...

in New York and Hong Kong, where he met his future wife Bessie. Bessie was the sister of the woman he was arranged to be married to. His family did not approve of a non-Asian marriage. Woo's diversified interests are reflected in his businesses, focusing in real estate development in Hong Kong, China and Singapore. The group owns several investment properties such as Harbour City and Times Square in Hong Kong, as well as operating other businesses such as

i-Cable Communications i-Cable Communications Limited () is a Hong Kong telecommunications company owned by Forever Top (Asia) Limited, which acquired the company from The Wharf Group in 2017. Overview Founded in 1999, the company provides broadband internet and ...

Modern Terminals Modern Terminals Limited (Modern Terminals or MTL), is the second largest container terminal operator in Hong Kong, just after Hongkong International Terminals Limited. It operates terminal 1, 2, 5 and 9 (South) in Kwai Tsing Container Terminal ...

and

Marco Polo Hotels Marco Polo Hotels () is a hotel management company based in Hong Kong that operates hotels in Hong Kong, Mainland China and the Philippines. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Wharf (Holdings) Limited. The company's chairman is chairman and man ...

. Woo also owns the privately held, high-end luxury retail group LCJG, which includes

Lane Crawford Lane Crawford (HK) Limited () is a retail company founded in 1850 operating specialist department stores selling luxury goods in Hong Kong and Mainland China. It is headquartered in , Wong Chuk Hang. Lane Crawford is a part of the Lane Crawfo ...

and the premier fashion house, Joyce. Woo also serves on the advisory board for various

Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune (magazine), Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States Joint-stock company#Closely held corporations and publicly traded corporations, corporations by ...

companies such as Chase Manhattan Bank,

JPMorgan Chase JPMorgan Chase & Co. (stylized as JPMorganChase) is an American multinational financial services, finance corporation headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. It is List of largest banks in the United States, the largest ba ...

and

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...

Political and non-profit

Woo is a member of the Standing Committee of the

Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s united front system. Its members advise and put proposals ...

. His past appointments include: * Chairman of the Council of the

Hong Kong Polytechnic University The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU or HKPU) is a public research university in Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong. The university is one of the eight government-funded degree-granting tertiary institutions in Hong Kong. Founded in 1937 a ...

from 1993 to 1997. * Founding chairman of the Hong Kong Environment and Conservation Fund Committee in 1994 until 2004. * Chairman of the

Hong Kong Hospital Authority The Hospital Authority is a statutory body managing all the government hospitals and institutes in Hong Kong. It is under the governance of its board and is under the monitor of the Secretary for Health of the Hong Kong Government. Its c ...

from 1995 to 2000. * Chairman of the

Hong Kong Trade Development Council The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body established in 1966 for international marketing dedicated to creating opportunities for Hong Kong's businesses. The organisation has 51 offices around the world, including 1 ...

from 2000 to 2007. In 1996, Woo ran in the First Hong Kong Chief Executive Election just before the British colony was handed over back to Chinese rule, alongside

Yang Ti-liang Sir Ti-liang Yang, (; 30 June 1929 – 24 June 2023) was a Hong Kong judge. He was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong, Chief Justice of Hong Kong from 1988 to 1996, the only Chinese people, ethnic Chinese person to hold thi ...

and

Tung Chee-hwa Tung Chee-hwa (; born May 29, 1937) is a Hong Kong businessman and retired politician who served as the first Chief Executive of Hong Kong between 1997 and 2005, upon the transfer of sovereignty on 1 July. He served as a vice chairman of th ...

. Tung won.

Achievements and honours

The

Government of Hong Kong The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government) is the executive authorities of Hong Kong. It was established on 1 July 1997, following the handover of Hong Kong. ...

appointed Woo Justice of the Peace in 1993, awarded the

Gold Bauhinia Star The Gold Bauhinia Star (, GBS) is the highest rank in Order of the Bauhinia Star, under the Order (distinction), honours system of Hong Kong, created in 1997 to replace the British honours system after the Handover of Hong Kong, transfer of sovere ...

in 1998 and the

Grand Bauhinia Medal The Grand Bauhinia Medal () is the highest award under the Decorations and medals of Hong Kong, Hong Kong honours and awards system; it is to recognise the selected person's lifelong and highly significant contribution to the well-being of Hong ...

in 2012.Honours List

30 June 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2015.

References

External links