Philanthropy focus
Sphere
#36
2014
24
lobally, there is relevance
in his message, titled
“Sleepless in Hong Kong”,
which speaks to challenges
faced in all of the developed
and developing world. His deep concern
about “widening inequality, intensifying
resource scarcity and waning trust” is not
only causing him sleepless nights, but no
doubt disturbs the nocturnal repose of
responsible leaders, young and old, the
world over.
Inequality: unacceptable
The recent concern regarding income
inequality is global. Politicians,
economists, activists and, yes, business
leaders, are all addressing the topic.
While the attention may be recent, the
conceptual concern is not. The metrics
to describe inequality were developed
in 1912 by Italian statistician Corrado
Gini (the Gini coefficient). Since then,
statisticians have found a wide range of
means to measure income inequality,
wealth inequality and income mobility in
societies.
Globalisation and the advent of the
knowledge economy are raising man’s
productivity, the source of widespread
wealth and rising living standards. Mr Li
recognises that not all will be successful at
capitalising on the opportunities presented
by these two forces. His speech was a call
to arms to consider how we can ensure that
those unlucky in circumstances of birth are
not left behind.
On 27 June this year,
Mr Li Ka-shing, Chairman of the
Li Ka Shing Foundation, made
his address to the graduating
class of Shantou University,
located in the eponymous
coastal city a few hours’ drive
north-east of Hong Kong. The
speech was covered widely
in Chinese and international
media who parsed and analysed
Mr Li’s thinking presented in
this annual address.
ADutytothe Future
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