The Chen family's huge donation to Harvard has brought this mysterious China rich family and the head of Morningside Fund, Mr. Chen Lezong, into people's field of vision again. The media and the media put forward different questions and explorations. Who is Chen Lezong?
Chen Lezong, who is rarely interviewed, is very low-key, so it is difficult to find comprehensive and detailed information about him on the Internet, and the news of donation to Harvard was not released by Morningside, but by Harvard. From a successful investor and scientist, to a low-key philanthropist, and now to support education, Mr. Chen Lezong's life has gone through different stages and the transformation between different roles. There is a main thread that runs through all the characters, that is, to promote the change of the world with personal strength and to change life with life.
His Morningside Venture Capital has long been famous in the world. It has successfully invested in many well-known high-tech companies, such as Sohu, Xunlei, Ctrip and YY, and a large number of companies listed in the United States. Recently, it is well-known in China to invest heavily in Lei Jun Xiaomi mobile phone, which is the biggest investor of Xiaomi.
"What is your ultimate attitude towards wealth?"
When interviewed by reporters, Chen Lezong said with a smile: "Wealth is a foreign thing. I have my own lifestyle. No matter how much wealth I have, I will never change my way of life. My personal life needs are very simple. There are some things I can't do. I don't drive any expensive cars. I drive an ordinary Volkswagen. I think the performance and quality of the machine are good and enough. "
In 20 14, Chen Qizong and Chen Lezong were ranked 17 on Forbes Hong Kong Rich List with total assets of US$ 2.95 billion. But in life, Chen Lezong is simple and low-key, an ordinary electronic quartz watch and an ordinary Volkswagen. In sharp contrast, he and his family's support for social welfare and education is generous, regardless of any return.
In addition to entrepreneurs and investors, Chen Lezong's other identity is a biological scientist and used to be a pathology researcher at Harvard Medical School. He said: "Because I am engaged in science, I support science and education more."
Both Chen Lezong and Chen belong to the Chen family, which has a certain influence in the world. These two brothers are distinguished guests of many global economic organizations, institutions and even American presidents. The wealth of the Chen family has a long history. Chen Zengxi, the father of the two brothers, 1923 was born in a wealthy family in Tianjin. The curse of "being rich for three generations" seems to have nothing to do with this family.
Why is this family so charitable but unusually low-key?
On the one hand, it is related to Chen Lezong's father. When he was a child, his father was already a successful businessman, but whenever the poor needed help in education, his father did not hesitate to give generously. His influence on them is subtle, and they also continue the family inheritance. Therefore, this donation was named after his father by the School of Public Health of Harvard University to commemorate it.
On the other hand, Chen Lezong grew up in a missionary school in Hong Kong, where he spent primary and secondary schools. I received a good education there, believed in Christ and became more compassionate. Until now, he often quotes golden sentences from the Bible in his speeches. As a businessman, scientist, philanthropist and other multiple identities, he practiced the mission and call entrusted to him by God in his own way. When Chen Lezong gave a speech at Chung Chi College of the University of Hong Kong, he encouraged students to quote from the Bible. Proverbs 4: 23 of the Old Testament says, "Keep your heart above all else. Because the fruits of life come from the heart. 」
Chen Lezong believes that the current commercial society has completely fallen, and people's greed and bottomless pit have led to the financial crisis. What is the way to change the world? As a devout Christian, in Chen Lezong's view, it may be the most difficult to change the human soul, but change is possible. Chen Lezong constantly changed the world in his own way by supporting education, charity and culture. Oppose the "Hong Kong central values" of quick success and instant benefit, and oppose the "Wall Street values" of greed. ?
In the graduation speech of Harvard School of Public Health, Chen Lezong encouraged those elite students who are about to graduate: "If mankind has not achieved good results in eliminating war, crime, hatred and greed, I only hope that we can do better in improving human health." On many occasions, he said, "I will never forget the word of God."? Because whoever gives more, he takes more from him and always appreciates his kindness. "
Many netizens questioned: Why did such a generous donation go to Harvard University in the United States, which is not short of money, but not to universities in China or charities in China?
Chen Lezong himself is an alumnus of Harvard University. In the 1970s, he received his master's and doctor's degrees in radiobiology from the School of Public Health, and engaged in cancer research at Harvard Medical School. It is a fine historical tradition of Harvard that alumni donate money to their alma mater.
Endowed universities have a long tradition in developed countries in Europe and America, which comes from excellent cultural traditions and long-term accumulation of high-quality alumni networks. A good credit mechanism is a strong guarantee. Chen Lezong himself not only donated to Harvard University, his alma mater, for a long time, but also assumed the responsibility of raising money for his alma mater. He said, "basically, no matter which American university you donate, you have considerable confidence that the money will not be squandered." Legal constraints or folk customs are guarantees. "
Chen Lezong shared a recent case. In the 1960s, a family fund donated a sum of money to the School of International Relations of Princeton University. At that time, the purpose of the donation was to train diplomatic talents for the American government, but in recent years, the family found that the school they donated was not used to train such talents. Later, the foundation took Princeton University to court. Chen Lezong said: "The financial transparency of American private universities is very high. As long as each university is non-profit, the remuneration of executives in management should be made public. For example, the annual salary of the president of Harvard University can be found online. "
Chen Lezong said: "Look at American universities. At present, the top universities in America are all so-called private universities. Of course, they are private and non-profit. If we look back 50 years ago, the strongest university in the United States was the University of California at Berkeley, but with the poor financial situation of the California government, universities like Berkeley that rely on public funds are in decline. Last year, Harvard University launched a fund-raising plan with the goal of raising $6.5 billion. In the United States, in addition to Harvard, there are many other universities that aim to raise more or less $654.38 billion, such as the University of Pennsylvania and Stanford University, which are all making such plans recently. The rise of private universities in the United States shows that private donations are a source for universities to maintain quality education. "
In fact, the Chen family has also made many donations and supports to China's education, such as Morningside Mathematics Fund of China Academy of Sciences, scholarships established in Peking University, Fudan University and Zhejiang University, and donations from Morningside College of the Chinese University of Hong Kong in Hong Kong.
Why did you donate it to Harvard School of Public Health, locking in the scope and field of public health care?
Chen Lezong has publicly stated that medicine often focuses on individual treatment, but preventive public health projects can affect the whole society. "If you look around the world, you will find that public health is needed more than ever," he told the Financial Times. He was referring to the current Ebola crisis. "If we want to effectively deal with global health threats, public health must be part of this solution." Chen Lezong said.
The development of high technology can save more people's health and lives. In an interview with People magazine, Chen Lezong said: "The vaccine for children's pneumonia now costs 260 dollars for a child in the United States, so the price is very high. Children in developing countries can't afford this vaccine. Then the only way to reduce the price of this vaccine is through new technology. So I started doing this a few years ago, working with a professor at Harvard University to reduce the production cost of this vaccine with new technology. I hope one day it's not 260 yuan, maybe it's 26 yuan, maybe it's 2.60 yuan. In this way, even a large number of children in developing countries can use it to help more people. "
As the highest-level public health training institution in the United States, Harvard School of Public Health not only conducts cutting-edge scientific research for the medical system, trains talents for the medical and health system, but also provides and influences policy analysis for government decision-making. This college has a glorious history, and its research results have saved countless lives or alleviated people's suffering all over the world. The college teaches people how to eat healthier, so that newborn babies can avoid HIV infection, promotes the adoption of clean air laws in the United States, helps humanitarian workers work more effectively in disasters, and changes the concepts and practices in the whole public health field.
At present, China has a very serious smog (PM2.5) problem, and the United States is also facing a serious air pollution crisis. Push the US Congress to pass the Clean Air Act (1963? ), finally began to solve this problem, which greatly promoted the environmental and health protection in the United States.
China has basically achieved rural medical insurance, and Professor Xiao Qinglun of Harvard School of Public Health can be said to have contributed greatly. He has been investigating and inspecting at the grassroots level in China for a long time, discussing with health officials in China, and thus designed a medical insurance policy that will cover the poor in China, which was finally adopted and benefited hundreds of millions of people. Analysts believe that the outstanding achievements and good traditions of Harvard School of Public Health should be the reason why Chen Lezong and his family's Morningside Fund are willing to give full support.
Life is not only science, but also many unknowns to explore. Speaking to young students at Chung Chi College in Hong Kong, he can better express his position. He said: "In addition to the human soul, there is also a human spirit in the inner world. Spirit is an organ that enables people to communicate with God. People need to communicate with God, for example, by praying and practicing spirituality and worship. In this communication, God conveys the attributes of holiness, justice and love to people. Reason and spirituality belong to two different fields. In the multidimensional inner world, they are not only compatible, but also complementary. In 2006, the Curriculum Reform Committee of Harvard University proposed to add a compulsory course "Reason and Belief" to the undergraduate course of Harvard University. No matter what the individual's final conclusion is on this issue, faith is a problem that every young person should think about when growing up. "
The article comes from the internet, and I edited and arranged the floating circle in Hong Kong.
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