Michael Ying

Who is Michael Ying?

Michael Ying or Ying Lee Yuen is a self-made billionaire, Hong Kong business magnate, leader and philanthropist. Ying is the former chairman and chief executive officer of Esprit Holdings Limited.

Ying is consistently ranked in the Forbes list of the world's wealthiest people and is ranked #15 in the Forbes Hong Kong's 50 Richest. Ying left the commercial world at the peak of his career in the retail world, and ventured into his philanthropic career.

During his career at Esprit, Ying held the positions of CEO and Chairman of the board, and remained the largest individual shareholder, with a 15% stake. Ying steadily reduced his majority stake in the company in recent years, pocketing more than $2 billion along the way.

In the later stages of his career, Ying pursued a number of philanthropic endeavors, donating large amounts of money to various charitable organizations as well as upstarting his very own family foundation that benefits medical and educational related initiatives. The foundation was founded in 2006 and is now formally recognized as the Yanai Foundation.