Mei Hing Chak – also known as Zhai Meiqing – was feted with a Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy in New York this week for exceptional giving and creating a world of positive change. Chak and her husband Liu Zhiqiang ranked No. 205 on the Forbes China Rich List in 2016 with a combined fortune worth $1.4 billion.

“The value of life is actually not measured by the amount of wealth you possess but by the contribution you make to society,” Chak said at an award event at the New York Public Library on Tuesday.  Click here for a link to her full remarks in Chinese and English.

Chak in 2005 established the HeungKong Charitable Foundation, a philanthropic foundation in China, committed to education, poverty alleviation, and rescue and disaster relief. The foundation has served more than two million people in need, according to Carnegie.

The couple lead HeungKong Group, a Guangzhou-headquartered real estate, investment and retailing concern. The two co-founded the business as a furniture retailer in 1990. They hold stakes in various financial service companies, including GF Securities, China Guangfa Bank, Zhanjiang Commercial Bank and the Bank of Tianjin.

The Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy has been given by the Carnegie family of institutions since 2001. It aims to inspire a culture of giving by recognizing outstanding philanthropists who reflect the values of Andrew Carnegie and his philosophy of giving—that the surplus wealth of the few should be administered “for the good of the people,”  according to the award website. Speakers at the 2017 Forbes Global CEO Conference held in Hong Kong, China last week discussed trends in global philanthropy and debated the impact of rapid technology change on wealth and welfare. 

Other Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy recipients this year are Azim Premji, H.F. and Marguerite Lenfest, Shelby White, Julian Robertson, Jeff Skoll, Kristine McDivitt Tompkins and James Wolfensohn.

Premji ranked No. 2 on the new Forbes India Rich List unveiled today.

(source:forbes.com)