Owner of the Tallest Building in Shanghai

I first met architect Billy Ming Sing Lee when we served together on the board of U.S. China People's Friendship Association. My first impression was of a tall, elderly white-haired man who often interrupted others in a loud voice. But then he smiled, apologized for his poor hearing, found a way into your heart. People in our group often joked that only Billy can go on a simple errand and end up making a friend.

When I mentioned I was doing this blogging project, he suggested I speak to others and gave me contact numbers for each. It was those others who said, "You really need to talk to Billy."
One day, I finally got the chance. We met in his tastefully-decorated home in Portola Valley. I soon realized why everyone wanted me to listen to this amazing man's story.

Billy Lee was born in 1932 in Shanghai to a very wealthy family. His grandfather owned a printing company, Da Ye Gongsi, which printed calendars and miscellaneous things. But that was not what made the family THAT wealthy. 

Family legend has it that one day Billy’s father—who had studied in the U.S. at Philips Academy, then Amherst College, and returned to Shanghai to work for the printing company-- was walking along Nanjing road after a torrential rain. A black sedan pulled up to the curb in front of him. A chauffeur emerged and ran around to open the door for a woman in a lovely cheongsam dress. Billy’s father saw that she would not be able to navigate the sidewalk without stepping in a puddle and soiling her dress. His chivalrous nature—and perhaps the knowledge of a few western films-- took hold. He ran forward, took off his coat, and draped it across the sidewalk. The woman, impressed by this act of kindness, turned out to be the wife of the chairman of the Bank of China. 

Da Ye Gongsi's Ten Dollar Bill

Da Ye Gongsi's Five Dollar Bill

Thereafter Billy's father had the job of printing China's currency. “Once my father got the currency job from the government, they didn’t print anything but that. Once inflation occurred, that’s how my father got really, really wealthy. He started investing in real estate. "

"At one time he owned the tallest building in Shanghai.” 

(To Be Continued. Next: Some Things Money Can't Fix)