What is the reason for being rich and benevolent?

Yu Pengnian’s father, Peng Linge, and mother, Xiao, are both from Lianyuan City, Hunan Province. His father has been doing business in Lantian Town, Lianyuan County for decades and is engaged in small business. Before Yu Pengnian graduated from university, he followed his father's example and engaged in small business in Changsha and other places. However, Yu Pengnian's early business experience in running around did not seem to go smoothly. In Yu Pengnian's 1981 calligraphy work, there are memories of this period, "The shopping mall is like a battlefield, from north to south, from east to west, defeated and lost, with no place to stay."

Yu Pengnian also served as a special correspondent for Changsha's "Dazhong Evening News". He even retained his article "Looking at China from a Colorless Standpoint" published in the Hong Kong "People" bimonthly on January 1, 1982. **Peace Talks", I am very proud of my experience as a reporter and the writing style of my articles back then. In the article, Yu Pengnian suggested: "Both sides of the country and the Communist Party of China must hold peace talks on an equal footing to create an atmosphere for peace talks. Both parties share the desire for peaceful reunification." In 1949, Yu Pengnian came to Shanghai. Here he was falsely accused of being a "fugitive landlord" and "having overseas connections" and was sentenced to three years in prison. While serving his sentence, Yu Pengnian was assigned to read the incoming letters of prisoners, classify them and distribute them because of his "good performance" and "culture". This job made Yu Pengnian almost understand human nature. "Every prisoner goes to jail and almost repeats the same experience: at the beginning, letters from lovers pledge each other's vows; letters from husband and wife express a deep sense of righteousness; letters from friends express feelings of embarrassment; letters from parents express blood and advice. But as time goes by, things change. Lovers turned against each other, friends reported, and wives changed their minds. Letters of regret, divorce, and revelations came like a whirlwind. Two months before the expiration of his three-year labor camp sentence, Yu Pengnian was found to be falsely accused of being a "fugitive landlord." Yu Pengnian seemed to have no choice but to go to Hong Kong.

When Yu Pengnian first arrived in Hong Kong, his situation was very miserable, and he had the same experience as the older generation who wanted to conquer the world. When he was sleeping on the streets in Hong Kong, Yu Pengnian was mistaken for a thief and beaten; when he was wandering on the streets, he was regarded as a stowaway and imprisoned; when he just watched a group fight out of curiosity, he was mistaken for an accomplice and was chased.

In the early 1960s, Taiwan began to engage in real estate construction. Yu Pengnian followed a boss into the Taiwan market and ushered in the first opportunity in his life to truly change his destiny.

In Taiwan, he was appointed as a manager by his boss with a monthly salary of NT$10,000. The boss asked Yu Pengnian to form his own company to run the business on the basis of "separate investment and profit sharing between both parties". Yu Pengnian, who has reached middle age, has found the "first pot of gold". To turn the money in his pocket into more money, he chose the stock market. But Yu Pengnian didn't know this, so he invested all his funds, and disaster ensued. In 1967, Hong Kong stocks plummeted, and Yu Pengnian lost 20 million, almost bringing him back to the starting point. After the stock speculation failed, Yu Pengnian returned to the real estate industry he was familiar with. In 1967, when Yu Pengnian was severely weakened, Hong Kong movie star Bruce Lee died of illness, leaving behind a mansion of more than 1,000 square meters. Hong Kong people are superstitious and believe that houses lived by famous people are uninhabitable, so no one dares to buy this "haunted house". Yu Pengnian saw the business opportunity, borrowed 700,000 yuan from the bank, and spent 300,000 yuan himself to buy this mansion with a swimming pool and renovate it.

After that, I rented it to foreigners for 8 years. After 8 years, I paid off the bank loan with rent alone. In 1996, the value of this house reached 70 million yuan. In 30 years, the price of this house has soared almost 70 times in his hands. In 1975, the mistress of a leader of a country living in Hong Kong passed away, and Yu Pengnian also spent 2.5 million Hong Kong dollars to take over her mansion and renovate it. In 1995, the value of this house appreciated to HKD 80 million. Since then, Yu Pengnian's business career has been on the right track. In Yu Pengnian's eyes, working hard in Hong Kong during his middle age was just a small matter. "There are big and small real estate businesses in Hong Kong. I am actually a small one." His proudest achievement should be his investment in Shenzhen real estate and the construction of the Pengnian Hotel in his later years. In 1990, Yu Pengnian published an article in Hong Kong's "Wen Wei Po" entitled "Taiwan-funded consortium invests in Futian, purchasing six sites for over 100 million Hong Kong dollars - Yu Pengnian expects Shenzhen property prices to increase fivefold in two years", predicting that Shenzhen is the most heavily invested in real estate in China. A city of value.

In 1991, 63-year-old Yu Pengnian established Fuhua (Shenzhen) Real Estate Development Co., Ltd. with a registered capital of US$2.6 million. Through the development of Fuhua Company, he made great achievements in Shenzhen at the beginning of its development and opening up. With this profit, he began to devote all his efforts to building his own Pengnian Plaza and five-star Pengnian Hotel in downtown Luohu, Shenzhen. "The 57-story Pengnian Hotel was built without borrowing a penny from the bank or renting out a piece of land. Many companies could no longer afford it, but Yu Pengnian, as he wrote in his inscription, 'let the wind and waves rise and sit firmly on the Diaoyutai.'"

The self-made picture album by Yu Pengnian reveals his pride in establishing the Pengnian Hotel. According to the investigation of Yu Pengnian's assets by "Times Weekly", Yu Pengnian's total net worth is about 3 billion yuan, of which the assets of Pengnian Plaza and Pengnian Hotel are 2.4 billion yuan, and the assets in Hong Kong are about 600 million Hong Kong dollars. Faced with many doubts about the origin of Yu Pengnian's assets, he rarely defends himself and often only affirms to the media, "There are many nouveau riche in mainland China, but I got my money head-on, and I am on a different level than them."

In 1981, the 53-year-old, who had become an overseas millionaire, returned to his hometown of Lianyuan, Hunan, and began his charity activities for the next twenty years. Yu Pengnian's initial impulse to do charity came from his father's instructions to him before he died.

When Yu Peng was young, there was a flood in his hometown. A family of eight and all their houses and property were washed away by the flood. After the flood, with the generous support of people in his hometown, his parents and six of his brothers were able to reunite, rebuild their home, and continue to Engage in small business. Therefore, before his father died of illness, he repeatedly told his children: "If you want to be successful in the future, you must not forget the kindness of your father and fellow villagers and do some good deeds for your hometown." "I like to help the poor directly, and I don't want to see the poor feel sad. The earliest , I build roads and run schools in my hometown. I do these things without leaving a name in history, just because I have experienced hardship myself and know the difficulties of the poor. People cannot forget their roots when they have money.”

In 1998, when there was a severe Yangtze River flood, local people saw Yu Pengnian’s apologetic look on TV and his explanation, “The Asian financial crisis has affected my fund mobilization, and the Pengnian Building under construction needs funds. I can only donate 100 Ten thousand yuan, I'm sorry..." Yu Pengnian's donation to his hometown was recorded as early as 1988. There is a monument in the corner of the underground passage of Wuyi Square in Changsha City, Hunan Province, which details Yu Pengnian's donation projects since 1981.

In 1988, Yu Pengnian also established the "Peng Lisan Changsha Welfare Foundation" to better use the money he donated to practical purposes. After donating to his hometown, Yu Pengnian gradually focused his donations on Shenzhen and Hong Kong. In the 1989 Shenzhen Fire, the 1991 Primary and Secondary School Teacher Award Fund, the 1994 Shenzhen University, the 1997 Shenzhen Public Security Fund, the 2000 "Peng Nian Science and Technology Award", and the 2003 outstanding medical personnel in the fight against SARS, Yu Peng donated millions of yuan every year. . In recent years, Yu Pengnian has expanded his charity scope to nine provinces and cities across the country. The "Pengnian Bright Action" charity activity launched in 2003 has spent RMB 500 million and plans to use 5 years to treat 200,000 cataract patients in 9 provinces (districts) and 1 city including Qinghai, Tibet, Gansu, Ningxia, Jilin, and Liaoning. The patient regained his sight. The characteristics of Yu Pengnian's charity behavior are obvious. First, he pays great attention to publicity. At the end of 2004, in an ordinary street in Xiangtan City, Hunan, local residents could hear the "Yu Pengnian Bright Action" broadcast almost every day to help cataract patients: "Fathers and fellow villagers in Hunan, it is free to restore sight, go to Peng Lishan as soon as possible." In order to To meet the needs of mobile surgery on the streets, Yu Pengnian specially ordered 15 special surgical medical vehicles from the United States.

On the body of the car, in addition to Yu Pengnian's photo, there is also a large slogan "Recovering the light for free, go to Peng Lishan quickly". These are all used for widespread publicity, so that more patients who have no money can get medical treatment. treat. Another obvious characteristic of Yu Pengnian's charity work is that he does everything himself and will never tolerate the plucking of geese.

Every time "Operation Bright" arrives in a province, Yu Pengnian, who is over 70 years old, brings his own medical team to the countryside for treatment. He must personally check and strictly review the situation. Each time, he first signed a contract with the local provincial government, and then asked the civil affairs, Disabled Persons' Federation and other departments to help organize patients. Even if you don’t lead the rescue team, you still need to keep in touch with Operation Bright every night to keep abreast of progress information. “I have had some unpleasant experiences in the process of doing charity work.

In the Mainland, I donated 10 fully-equipped ambulances, but they were dismantled and used as vehicles for local officials. The construction of the May Day Square tunnel and the railway station fountain were also unsatisfactory. I want to ensure that my donation It has not violated my original intention, and I have ensured that no one will pluck out my donations and profit from them. ”

Hurun commented, “He is more concerned about how charitable donations are spent. This is the most difficult step for China's philanthropy; at the same time, it also sets an example for other domestic philanthropists. If he succeeds, it will definitely drive the development of China's philanthropy. "As the first charity hotel in China, the Pengnian Hotel has been controversial since its establishment. The Pengnian Hotel was built at the time when the Southeast Asian financial crisis affected Hong Kong. In a "Pengnian Hotel" about the Pengnian Hotel According to the "New Project Summary", the total investment of Pengnian Hotel is 500 million yuan, including 100 million yuan for infrastructure investment and 200 million yuan for decoration. Shenzhen Yu Pengnian Industrial Co., Ltd. fully invested 500 million yuan. There was news that Yu Pengnian was not the sole proprietor of the whole construction. "It is rumored that a considerable part of the funds came from loans from Hunan Bank." He was quite unhappy. "I earned this money from doing business honestly for 50 years. So far I have not done any business with Hunan, I have not borrowed any money from Hunan, and I have not worn a Hunan hat. I built this hotel myself. As for whether my money was stolen or deceived, you can go investigate. ”

On June 2, 2000, 26 days before the trial opening of Pengnian Hotel, Yu Pengnian declared Pengnian Hotel as a “charity hotel”, and Pengnian had already become “famous” even before it opened. Not long after, in June 2002, Yu Pengnian sent a letter to the Legislative Committee of the Shenzhen Municipal People's Congress, requesting the Municipal People's Congress Standing Committee to legislate his "charity hotel" to ensure that the "four prohibitions" promise after his death can be implemented: Pengnian The property rights of the hotel are not allowed to be mortgaged, transferred, or inherited, and the profits obtained cannot be used for other purposes and must be donated to society. The Shenzhen Municipal People's Congress Legal Committee responded in a high-profile manner. On December 9, 2002, the Shenzhen Municipal People's Congress Legal Committee responded. The "Regulations on the Management of Yu Pengnian's Charitable Assets in Shenzhen Special Economic Zone (Draft)" were adopted and planned to be submitted to the Third Standing Committee of the Shenzhen Municipal People's Congress for review and approval.

The draft contains 11 articles, including the definition of Yu Pengnian's charitable assets. Protection provisions, management agencies, etc. However, after a period of uproar, this legislation ultimately came to nothing. The reasons are: "First, it is not appropriate to list a regulation specifically for individuals. Second, the country already has special laws on donations. Speaking of the specific reasons, a person from the Shenzhen Municipal People's Congress Legal Affairs Committee did not want to analyze it further, saying only that "the reasons are very complicated." "At this time, some people believed that Pengnian Plaza and Pengnian Hotel were not actually worth 2 billion yuan. Yu Pengnian actually "protected private property in the name of protecting donations." Some people even believed that this was just a business. The usual "marketing campaign"

Looking back on this view four years later, in 2004 the National People's Congress wrote the clause "citizens' legal private property is inviolable" into the Constitution, even though legislation was required that year. The selfishness of protecting private property has also become an aboveboard matter; when it comes to the "marketing campaign" of Peng Nian Charity Hotel, all its net profits are invested in charity, and the ultimate beneficiaries are also people in need. From another perspective, these views are correct. It shows that it is not easy to develop a "charity hotel" in depth.

In 2004, Yu Pengnian signed an agreement with the internationally renowned Hilton Hotel Management Company, and Hilton took over the daily management of Pengnian Hotel. Pay a management fee of 20 million yuan to the other party every year. According to Yu Pengnian, "Foreigners are reliable and will not mess around, so they can keep the 'hen' of Pengnian Hotel laying eggs." "But more than a year after Hilton International Hotel Group officially took over Pengnian Hotel, because "profit growth did not reach the expected 10% target," Yu Pengnian immediately terminated the cooperation between the two parties in March 2006. Pengnian Hotel learned to do value-added charity, There is still a long way to go.

A few years ago, Yu Pengnian was diagnosed with diabetes. He had to inject himself with insulin every morning. As he got older, his body became worse. It's getting worse. In addition to taking two injections a day, he also has to take medicine seven times in the morning and evening. Yu Pengnian is very caring about his employees and is also good to his relatives from Hunan. There is a relative who works in a hotel because he "can't keep up." , Yu Pengnian sent them home, and their wages were still paid, but for his children and grandchildren, Yu Pengnian was "cruel". In Yu Pengnian's industry, his children and grandchildren all had good jobs, but they were faced with a family fortune of more than 3 billion. No inheritance rights.

According to many media reports, Yu Pengnian's children and grandchildren rarely complained about this. His grandson Peng Zhibing said, "You have to understand even if you don't understand. You have to see if you can learn something from him and then make money yourself." And Yu Pengnian's youngest son Peng Yafan was full of praise for his father's business skills, "Like him Compared with him in heaven and me on earth, there is so much difference. "A gentleman is rich and he practices virtue." People who are rich and benevolent are heavyweight leaders on the road to social civilization.