Forbes Indonesia — August 2017

AUGUST 2017 FORBES INDONESIA | 73

University of Science and Technol-

ogy, the largest single donation the

university has received. The build-

ing, named after Aaeon, provides a

platform for the research work of

the local electronics and medical-

device industries. Last year his wife,

Marian Huang, gave $3.3 million for

the construction of another building

there, to be named after Onyx when

it’s completed next year. Formerly

a junior high school teacher, Huang

now manages the group’s founda-

tion, which has spent $2.8 million

on scholarships and financial aid for

disadvantaged families as well as on

art sponsorships and disaster relief

across Taiwan since 1999.

Lin Yu-Ling 80

CHAIRMAN, HUNG TAI GROUP

Set up a charitable trust in 2015

with a billion dollars’ worth of his

assets, which include several com-

mercial buildings and plots of land

in Taipei’s upscale Xinyi district.

The assets generate $30 million

annually for the trust, which aims

to nurture talent and encourage

innovation by awarding scholar-

ships, sending students overseas

and making grants to individuals

who have contributed to society.

THAILAND

Keeree Kanjanapas 66

FOUNDER & CHAIRMAN,

BTS GROUP HOLDINGS

The billionaire property and mass-

transit developer has increasingly

turned to philanthropy since pass-

ing control of the company that

runs Bangkok’s elevated-train

system to his eldest son. He fo-

cuses on health and education in

the parts of the country with the

greatest need. He spent $1 mil-

lion to build a school in Sa Kaeo

Province, then added a school for

the blind in Khao Yai, where he

also equipped a hospital. Another

million funded a pair of dialysis

centers offering free service in

several provinces to people with

kidney ailments.

THONGMA

Vijitpongpun 59

FOUNDER, PRUKSA

HOLDING

Since 2010, the property devel-

oper has donated more than $5

million, focusing on hospitals,

university scholarships and Bud-

dhist organizations. Underprivi-

leged children, the disabled and

patients with HIV and AIDS are

also beneficiaries. Among the

recipients of his $1 million in do-

nations last year were the Child

Protection Foundation, the Mir-

ror Foundation, Operation Smile

and Wat Pra Baht Nam Phu’s

AIDS hospice.

VIETNAM

Pham Nhat Vuong 48

CHAIRMAN,

VINGROUP

The richest person in Vietnam is

also one of the country’s biggest

philanthropists. His Kind Heart

Foundation, which he started

in 2006, has spent roughly $180

million in Vietnam on educa-

tion, health care programs and

assistance for the poor. Under

one project, the foundation has

given 24,000 heifers, or breed-

ing cows, to thousands of poor

families in rural areas. Recipients

raise and keep the cows after giv-

ing the first calf to another fam-

ily in need. Last year, 3,000 cows

were given away. This year he’s

donated $70 million to a program

that provides free surgeries and

transplants to poor people at one

of his Vinmec international-stan-

dard hospitals, a chain he built

in Vietnam and converted into a

nonprofit last year.

REPORTED BY

Shu-Ching Jean Chen,

Chen May Yee, Grace Chung,

Susan J. Cunningham,

Sunshine Lichauco de Leon,

Rebecca Feng,

Ron Gluckman, Jane Ho,

Joyce Huang,

Neerja Pawha Jetley,

Naazneen Karmali,

Kim Hee-Joung,

Lan Anh Nguyen,

Jane A. Peterson,

Anuradha Raghunathan,

Lucinda Schmidt,

James Simms, Jessica Tan,

Katherine Taylor

EDITED BY

John Koppisch

lects excess cooked food from hotels,
discarded fresh produce, items with
a near-expiration date and packaged
goods from trading companies, super-
markets and individuals. It distrib-
utes the items to almost 200 charitable
groups across the island.
Other initiatives include food drives

and placing boxes in more than 70 loca-

tions around Singapore so the public

can donate unwanted food. “Nicholas

and I managed the Food Bank on our

own for the first 12 months, until we re-

alized this animal was growing too fast,”

says Nichol, a mother of three. As cash

donations began to stream in two years

ago, the Food Bank hired two full-time

staffers and bought a van and a truck.

“Today we have 1,000 volunteers, and

I give talks regularly to corporates and

schools to spread the message of what

we are trying to do.” She says next year

they plan to start helping neighboring

countries set up food banks.