A billionaire in China gifts cash and gifts to the villagers in his hometown who helped fund his university education decades ago. - Photo: SCMP composite/Douyin
BEIJING: Chinese billionaire Richard Liu Qiangdong has moved villagers in his hometown in eastern China by saying that he would distribute gifts to them again.
The expressions of gratitude includes 10,000 yuan (US$1,400) in cash to each individual over the age of 60.
Liu’s annual practice in Guangming Village, Suqian, Jiangsu province,comes ahead of the Lunar New Year.
The billionaire says he is eternally grateful for his fellow villagers who donated a combined 500 yuan (US$70) and 76 eggs for him when he went to Beijing to study at a university in the early 1990s.
Liu, 50, is the founder and chairman of JD.com, the country’s leading e-commerce website.
According to the Hurun Global Rich List released in April of last year, Liu’s net worth was 49.5 billion yuan (US$6.8 billion), placing him 427th in the list of global tycoons.
His gift-giving tour began as early as 2016 when he took his wife Zhang Zetian to the village.
As well as the 10,000 yuan to every elderly villager, Liu also sent gifts, including food, clothes and home appliances, worth thousands of yuan in total, to each family.
A farmer surnamed Xu told Jiupai News that the village commission informed them Liu would visit them on January 8 this year. There are 1,400 households in the village.
“The village commission told us to hand in the photocopied household registry document and identity cards, so that they could prepare for Liu to distribute gifts,” Xu was quoted as saying.
He said his parents are both over 60, entitling them to receive a total of 20,000 yuan (US$2,700) from Liu.
“Liu came to our village last year and he gave us down jackets and some food,” said Xu. “I saw him from a short distance. He is handsome and vigorous. All of us are thankful for him.”
A 71-year-old villager, whose name was not revealed, said even if Liu would not give them presents in the future, he was still grateful.
“He has no obligation to do that. His money is also earned through hard work,” said the old man.
He added: “There are so many families in the village. He has made great contributions to the village. We will not forget him in the next decade.”
Liu spent all his primary and secondary school life in the rural area. Before studying at the prestigious China Renmin University in 1992, he had hardly ever left the village.
His family was so poor that he had to partly rely on his fellow villagers to fund his university education.
“My fellow men’s help is the starting point for me to step towards the world,” Liu once recalled.
The story received a mostly positive reception on mainland social media despite some people suspecting his gift-giving was a publicity stunt.
“He is a good entrepreneur with a conscience,” said one online observer.
“Anyway, he gave real help for the old people. It is more convincing than any words,” another person said. - South China Morning Post
