Lee Shin Cheng was a Malaysian business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. Lee Shin Cheng heads IOI Corporation Berhad, better known as IOI Group, as its executive chairman. IOI, which is listed on the Malaysian Stock Exchange or Bursa Malaysia, is a conglomerate managing oil palm plantations, producing specialty fats and oleochemicals, and developing property in Malaysia, Indonesia, the United States, and Europe. The IOI refinery in Rotterdam, Netherlands is the largest palm oil refinery in Europe. IOI's oil palm plantations in Malaysia and Indonesia produce palm oil and palm kernel oil. These oils are made into specialty oils, metallic stearates and fats that are used in soaps, detergents, cosmetics and food additives. IOI Group is a leading real estate developer in Malaysia. Projects include townships, shopping malls, condominiums, office towers, and resorts.
Early life
Lee grew up northeast of Kuala Lumpur on a rubber plantation, where his father ran a small Chinese food shop. He left school at the age of 11 to help support his family, selling ice cream on a bicycle for four years before returning to finish high school. He thought work with one oil palm plantation company for a supervisory job, but was turned down. The reason given—he didn't speak fluent English—important then because Europeans still owned most of the plantations. Lee, who was then only 22, was undeterred by Dunlop Estate's rejection. He went on to get a field supervisor's job with at another palm oil company. Twenty years later, Lee bought Dunlop Estate. In 2008, he recalled the happiest day of his life in an interview with the New Straits Times, saying, "My happiest day was in 1989 when I bought Dunlop Estate from Multi-Purpose Holdings Bhd. This was because during the late 1960s, I had applied for a job at Dunlop Estate but they did not employ me because I was not adequately qualified. If they had employed me, I would probably not have owned the entire asset of Dunlop Estate today. This purchase marked a significant milestone in my life".
Tree talker
Lee adopted a hands-on managerial style and focused on maximizing palm oil yields. Lee's walkabouts on IOI's 152,000 hectares of oil palm plantations in Malaysia and Indonesia earned him the "tree talker" moniker among journalists, rival plantation companies, and bankers in Malaysia. At an awards reception speech in July 2009, Lee remarked on his moniker, saying, "I am always quoted as talking to the trees, so it looks like I have to continue talking to the trees to get another award".
Family
Lee has two sons and four daughters. All were trained as lawyers. Lee and his family's control of IOI is held via Progressive Holdings Sdn Bhd. Although all six of Lee's children work in the company holding managerial positions, sons Dato' Lee Yeow Chor and Lee Yeow Seng are more prominent by virtue of their presence on IOI's board of directors. Amitoj Singh. His youngest son Lee Yeow Seng married Yeo Bee Yin, the Minister of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change on 11 March 2019.
Financial worth
In 2009, Lee was reported to be Malaysia's third richest person and the world's 234th richest person. His net worth was then reported to be US$3.2 billion by Forbes. In 2019, his position dropped to the fifth spot on the list, as his wealth fell by US$200 million to US$5.4 billion.
Social contributions
Lee was given the FIABCI Malaysia Property Man of the Year award in 2001. In February 2002, he was conferred an honorary doctorate degree in agriculture by Universiti Putra Malaysia in recognition of his contributions to the palm oil industry. Lee served as a board member of Universiti Putra Malaysia, an adviser to the KL & Selangor Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a council member of the Malaysian Palm Oil Association, a member of the Malaysia-China Business Council, the honorary president of the Association of Eng Choon Societies of Malaysia, and the Federation of Hokkien Association of Malaysia. Since 1998, Lee has provided scholarships and educational grants to students via . Lee has contributed RM27.5 million in building a school in Puchong. In August 2016, the school changed its name to "SJKC Shin Cheng.
Death
Lee died on 1 June 2019, two days shy of his 80th birthday.
