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Shanghai - A Chinese tycoon plans to give 4.1 billion yuan ($600m) in shares to charity, officials said on Friday, in a gift media compared to the philanthropy of Microsoft founder Bill Gates.
Cao Dewang, 63, has told authorities he intends to set up a foundation and give it 70% of his shares in Fuyao Glass Industry Group which are worth 4.1 billion yuan, the China Securities Regulatory Commission said.
"The idea is out there. But the details have yet to be worked out and everything is still being planned," a spokesperson for Cao said.
If authorities approve Cao's foundation, state media said the glass-making tycoon would become China's most charitable entrepreneur, replacing Yu Pengnian, a real estate king who has donated three billion yuan to charity since 2003.
American Gates, the world's richest full-time philanthropist, said last month he would launch a campaign to encourage the wealthiest Chinese to take up the practice.
Chinese media suggested Cao may be one of the quickest to follow Gate's example.
Cao was a highschool dropout who began building his fortune as a salesman for a local glassmaker. In 2008 he was ranked by Forbes magazine as the 53rd richest man in China with a net worth of 4.8 billion yuan.
Cao and his family own 1.1 billion shares, or a controlling 54% stake in Fuyao Glass, based in southeast China's Fujian province, which produces windshields for world-renowned automobile brands including Audi and Bentley.
- AFP
