SINGAPORE – Ms Anthonia Hui, 65, describes herself as a “graduate of life”.
At the age of six, she started working in a factory in Hong Kong assembling plates for a year, to put herself and her younger sister through school.
As she was born in Hong Kong to a poor family, her father felt that it was more important to educate his two sons, and told Ms Hui she had to find the money if she wanted an education.
And so, she walked two hours each way from her home to the factory to earn her school fees.
Her childhood poverty, among other life experiences, has shaped her views on philanthropy, said Ms Hui, a former banker who founded wealth management firm AL Wealth Partners with her husband Leonardo Drago.
Ms Hui is now head of Singapore for global wealth and asset manager AlTi Tiedemann Global. The Nasdaq-listed firm acquired AL Wealth Partners recently.
Ms Hui, who is married without children and became a Singaporean a decade ago, said: “I’m trying to use my philanthropy to give people the tools and skills to help themselves and others.”
For a start, she has committed to donating $1 million to various charitable causes close to her heart through a donor-advised fund at the Asia Community Foundation.
These causes include supporting the education of girls from poor families, the mental health of youth and the elderly, and the performing arts, and raising awareness of human trafficking.
The Asia Community Foundation, a registered charity which describes itself as the first Asia-focused independent community foundation, was launched on Friday afternoon to promote and facilitate charitable giving by those with very deep pockets in Asia.
It is founded by members of the Asia Philanthropy Circle, such as Mr Laurence Lien and Mr Stanley Tan. The Asia Philanthropy Circle is a network for Asian philanthropists to collaborate and address social issues.
Mr Lien is the chairman of the Lien Foundation, which was started by his grandfather, the late Overseas Union Bank founder Lien Ying Chow. Mr Tan is the chief executive of property firm GYP Properties.
Mr Lien said of the new foundation: “We want to make giving easier and more impactful.
“Singapore is a wealth management hub and there is so much money here. We want to put that money to good use.”
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