Lee Kong Chian

Lee Kong Chian, also known as Lee Geok Kun, was a notable Chinese businessman and philanthropist who was active in Malaya and Singapore between the 1930s and 1960s. He founded the Lee Foundation and was one of Southeast Asia's wealthiest men in the 1950s and 1960s. He was also Tan Kah Kee's son-in-law, another well-known Chinese businessman, and philanthropist in Southeast Asia.

Lee was appointed chairman of the board of directors of The Chinese High School (now Hwa Chong Institution) in 1934, a position he held until 1957. Lee established Guozhuan Primary School in his hometown of Furong Village in 1939. Lee donated his River Valley property in Singapore to the Nan Chiau Teachers' Training College in 1941. (present Nan Chiau High School). During World War II, while stuck in the United States, he offered lectures at Columbia University. Lee became the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Singapore (now the National University of Singapore) and contributed S$1 million to the institution's grounds for the building of a medical college. The Lee Foundation also supported the National University of Singapore, Anglo-Chinese School, St. Margaret's Secondary School, Methodist Girls' School, Singapore Chinese Girls' School, Tao Nan School, Anglican High School, and The Chinese High School. The Singapore Management University's Lee Kong Chian School of Business was named in his honor.

Lee invested his fortune in education and other charitable endeavors. In 1952, he established the Lee Foundation in Singapore, and in 1960, he established the Lee Foundation in Malaya. The Lee Foundation Limited was founded in Hong Kong in 1965. Lee pioneered free public library services for the nation when he donated S$375,000 to the Singapore government through the Lee Foundation, allowing the Singapore government to construct the Old National Library building on Stamford Road. Between 1952 and 1993, the Foundation made unrestricted donations totaling S$300 million to diverse charities.