Wolfensohn, Sir James D.

Sir James D. Wolfensohn

1933–2020

Year

Affiliation

Areas of Focus

Humanities | Sciences | Arts and Culture

Medal Citation: 2017 Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy

The life of James Wolfensohn has been characterized by principled leadership, compassion, and generosity. Like Andrew Carnegie before him, as a reformer Mr. Wolfensohn takes to heart the maxim that democracy and excellence are not mutually exclusive.

The remarkable attributes that led to Mr. Wolfensohn’s achievements emerged at an early age. Born in Sydney, Australia, to a loving and cultured family of modest means, he entered high school at the age of 10 and college at 15. He joined the fencing team during his later years at university, strictly to fulfill the prerequisite for a sixth teammate at national championships. This (initially passive) membership led to a steadfast commitment, eventually earning him a place on the 1956 Australian Olympic fencing team. He went on to receive a BA and an LLB from the University of Sydney, serve as an officer in the Royal Australian Air Force, and earn an MBA from Harvard University. These accomplishments all contributed to the formation of the strong character for which Mr. Wolfensohn would become world renowned.

He began his career practicing law in Sydney, and returned there to transition into banking after graduating from Harvard. His rise in the field took him to London and, eventually, New York, where he was a senior executive at Salomon Brothers. In 1980 he became a naturalized U.S. citizen and established his own investment firm, James D. Wolfensohn, Inc. Beyond his career in business, his philanthropy has benefitted numerous cultural and social causes, both in the United States and abroad. He has also donated his time to a range of organizations. As chairman of Carnegie Hall, he worked with the hall’s president, Isaac Stern, to return the New York City landmark to its former glory, spearheading renovations and securing the financial stability of the world-famous auditorium. He did much the same for the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, as chairman helping to relieve that institution’s financial woes. And he committed more than 30 years of insightful leadership to the Institute for Advanced Study, where he now serves as chairman emeritus. Undeterred by convention, Mr. Wolfensohn applies himself in unexpected directions, for example taking up the cello—and becoming proficient in the instrument—at the age of 50. Years later he would remark that he advanced in life without any self-imposed limitations.

In 1995 Mr. Wolfensohn was named president of the World Bank, further raising his profile in the international community. He astonished many with a courageous campaign against widespread corruption in both developing and developed countries. He implemented new policies requiring bank representatives to build close and respectful relationships with the impoverished member nations it supported. He is one of the few World Bank presidents to have served two terms, and his decade-long tenure was characterized by an unwavering defense of the underprivileged. Throughout his time at the World Bank, Mr. Wolfensohn continued to give quietly to a range of philanthropic causes that were as varied as his own interests.

Mr. Wolfensohn has earned numerous honors and awards over the course of his illustrious career. In 2005 he was named Special Envoy for Gaza Disengagement by President George W. Bush. His honors include the Knighthood of the Order of the British Empire (KBE), the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun of Japan, the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, and the award of Officer of the Order of Australia (AO).

As a philanthropist, public servant, and humanitarian, Mr. Wolfensohn has demonstrated a record of philanthropy that upholds Andrew Carnegie’s lofty vision of giving and service. The Carnegie family of institutions is enormously privileged to include Sir James D. Wolfensohn among the recipients of the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy.

Acceptance Speech Video: October 3, 2017 Awards Ceremony

Photos: October 3, 2017 Awards Ceremony

White, Shelby

Shelby White

Year

Affiliation

Areas of Focus

Ancient World | Art and Humanities | Nature and Gardens | Neuroscience | Human Rights | Jewish Culture

Medal Citation: 2017 Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy

Shelby White’s extraordinary philanthropic accomplishments extend across as wide a range as Andrew Carnegie’s own philanthropy. Ms. White’s interests include education, libraries, museums, archaeology, parks, science, and the arts and humanities, and the multifaceted breadth of her giving is ever evolving.

Ms. White was raised in Brooklyn, New York, in an immigrant household. Her parents’ support for the needy, including refugees from Nazi Germany, made a lasting impression on the young girl. As a nine-year-old she used a Camp Fire Girls donut sale to help a neighborhood nursery. Her childhood experiences and her thirst for knowledge proved invaluable as she earned a bachelor’s degree at Mount Holyoke College and a master’s at Columbia University. She then married investment banker Rodney L. White. After her husband passed away in 1969, Ms. White began a career in financial journalism. By then a budding philanthropist, she would later donate the Rodney White Country Garden to The New York Botanical Garden.

In 1983 Ms. White married Leon Levy, the renowned financier and philanthropist who in the 1950s had founded the Jerome Levy Foundation, named after his father, which focused on academic freedom and civil liberties. Shelby White and Leon Levy both believed ardently in the importance of giving, and the couple became a philanthropic force. Their passion for ancient civilizations led to the establishment of the Shelby White and Leon Levy Program for Archaeological Publications at Harvard University, and they sponsored the excavations of Ashkelon, Israel. Their love for the arts resulted in the creation of the Shelby White and Leon Levy Travel Grants at NYU’s Institute of Fine Arts, which enable graduate students to travel the world to study original works of art. The couple also donated the Leon Levy and Shelby White Court to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the centerpiece of the museum’s new Greek and Roman Galleries. During their years together, Shelby White and Leon Levy expanded their support to other areas, including economics, neuroscience, human rights, and civil liberties.

Following Mr. Levy’s death in 2003, Ms. White established the Leon Levy Foundation; their daughter, Tracy White, is now an active participant in the foundation. Known for its creativity and innovation, the foundation supports the preservation, understanding, and expansion of knowledge across a wide range of fields, from neuroscience to the humanities. Initiatives include the Leon Levy Neuroscience Fellowship Program, which funds the research of young scientists, and in 2006 the foundation established the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at New York University.

The Leon Levy Foundation supports projects to which the couple has personal connections, such as an archival grant to the New York Philharmonic. (Mr. Levy worked as an usher at Philharmonic concerts during his student years at City College of New York.) In addition the couple both loved nature, so Ms. White established the Leon Levy Native Plant Preserve on the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas, where they had long owned a home; the preserve is the first national park on that island. The foundation also supports the cultural institutions of Brooklyn, including Prospect Park and the Brooklyn Public Library.

Ms. White serves on the boards of The New York Botanical Garden, the Institute for Advanced Study, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York University, Bard Graduate Center, and The Writers Room. She is also chairman of the American Friends of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

Mr. Levy summed up his philosophy of philanthropy concisely: “I tend to take a long view…. I prefer to give money to pursue a concept or idea…. All we can do is try to leave a legacy of good works.” His philosophy continues to underlie the giving of the Leon Levy Foundation.

We are certain Ms. White’s remarkable achievements at the Leon Levy Foundation would astonish both Leon Levy and Andrew Carnegie. The Carnegie family of institutions is privileged to welcome Shelby White as a recipient of the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy.

Acceptance Speech Video: October 3, 2017 Awards Ceremony

Photos: October 3, 2017 Awards Ceremony

Tompkins, Kristine McDivitt

Kristine McDivitt Tompkins

Year

Affiliation

Areas of Focus

Conservation

Medal Citation: 2017 Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy

In The Gospel of Wealth, Andrew Carnegie places parks in “the very front rank of benefactions,” praising their positive effects on body and spirit. Continuing Douglas Tompkins’s vision, Kristine McDivitt Tompkins has made immeasurable advances toward the preservation and restoration of the world’s great ecosystems, bringing to life Mr. Carnegie’s words more than he could have imagined.

Mrs. Tompkins has always been connected to the outdoors. Raised most of her life on a ranch in southern California, as a teenager she spent summers working for Chouinard Equipment, a rock climbing equipment company, and skied competitively at the College of Idaho. After graduation she returned to Chouinard Equipment and helped its founder grow his operation into Patagonia, the world-renowned outdoor apparel leader and “anti-corporation.” As CEO over a 20-year period, Mrs. Tompkins was widely credited with the company’s values-driven business practices and activism on behalf of the wilderness it celebrates.

In 1993 Mrs. Tompkins retired from Patagonia and married Doug Tompkins, founder of The North Face and cofounder of Esprit. With a shared passion for the outdoors, the two embarked upon a crusade that would push boundaries, raise standards, and, ultimately, make history. The result was Tompkins Conservation, a powerhouse of initiatives that lends unwavering commitment to parks and their restoration, along with sustainable agriculture and environmental activism.

Tragically, Mr. Tompkins died in a kayaking accident in 2015. Despite this loss, his wife has courageously driven their movement forward with outstanding accomplishments. In March 2017, for example, Mrs. Tompkins and Michelle Bachelet, president of Chile, signed a pledge to expand that country’s national park system by approximately 10 million acres. This unprecedented act is the largest land donation ever made by a private individual to a nation. In addition, Mrs. Tompkins has bestowed upon Argentina hundreds of thousands of acres of parklands. These gifts, however, did not come without conditions. Both countries are obligated to actively restore, preserve, and nurture these unspoiled landscapes and their biodiversity in perpetuity. The parklands must also be staffed by a locally sourced workforce to energize the regional economy.

Mrs. Tompkins continues her tireless struggle for conservation. Her gifts to Argentina and Chile are a critical step toward helping those countries to create world-class national park systems, which will continue to benefit visitors from all over the world for generations to come. By protecting the environment that she has always loved, Mrs. Tompkins has become a force of nature in her own right, and the Carnegie family of institutions is honored to recognize her extraordinary accomplishments and generosity with the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy.

Acceptance Speech Video: October 3, 2017 Awards Ceremony

Photos: October 3, 2017 Awards Ceremony

Skoll, Jeff

Jeff Skoll

Year

Affiliation

Areas of Focus

Economic Opportunity | Education | Environmental Sustainability | Health | Peace and Human Rights | Sustainable Markets

Medal Citation: 2017 Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy

In The Gospel of Wealth, Andrew Carnegie urged the wealthy to do “what is practicable now; with the next step possible in our day and generation.” When eBay’s IPO transported Jeff Skoll, the company’s first full-time employee and president, to extraordinary wealth, he began to deliberate the best ways to return his wealth to society. The result is a sophisticated set of organizations that are designed to meet, and are indeed meeting, some of the greatest threats facing humanity.

Mr. Skoll was born in Montreal and moved with his family to Toronto when he was 14. At that age his ambition was to become a writer, one whose stories would, as he put it, make “the world feel smaller and more interconnected,” just as many of his favorite authors did for him. Even then, however, he understood that a writing career might require support from a “day job.” Also around this time his father was diagnosed with cancer, speaking with regret of all that he had yet to experience in life. Fortunately, the elder Mr. Skoll recovered from his illness, but this trying period for the family made a deep impression on the son, ultimately helping to propel Jeff Skoll toward academic and professional success.

Mr. Skoll earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Toronto and an MBA from Stanford University. He then set out to establish himself in Silicon Valley. His early success at eBay set the stage for another phase of his remarkable career, this time in philanthropy.

Founded in 1999, the Skoll Foundation is one of the largest organizations in the world committed to investing in, connecting, and celebrating social entrepreneurs. The Skoll Award, for example, has given generous grants to 122 social entrepreneurs at 100 organizations across five continents. With over 80 films to its name, Mr. Skoll’s film company, Participant Media, aims to inspire change through storytelling—earning, so far, 52 Academy Award nominations and 11 Oscars. Meanwhile, with a mission to confront “global threats imperiling humanity,” the Skoll Global Threats Fund focuses on climate change, water security, pandemics, nuclear nonproliferation, and conflict in the Middle East. Capricorn Investment Group invests in breakthrough solutions to the world’s most pressing problems, proving that values-based sustainable investment approaches can enhance return rates.

The vision of the Jeff Skoll Group—to “live in a sustainable world of peace and prosperity”—is the bedrock of its founder’s philanthropy. Mr. Skoll’s youthful goal of making the world smaller by uniting people through stories has been brilliantly realized across all of the Jeff Skoll Group organizations, with initiatives that tap into individuals’ idealism and encourage activism. Many of Mr. Skoll’s endeavors have helped inspire positive change in national and international policies, and he has been honored numerous times for his contributions. Fellow Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy medalist Eli Broad named Skoll one of “The World’s 7 Most Powerful Philanthropists” in Forbes in 2011, and the next year he was named an Officer of the Order of Canada, a recognition established by Queen Elizabeth II acknowledging outstanding achievement, dedication to the community, and service to the nation.

If Mr. Carnegie were alive today, we believe that he would marvel at Mr. Skoll’s organizational talent and visionary philanthropy. The Carnegie family of institutions applauds the scope of his achievements and his giving, uniting passion, business acumen, and innovation in the effort to create a more just world. We are privileged to include Jeff Skoll among the recipients of the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy.

Acceptance Speech Video: October 3, 2017 Awards Ceremony

Photos: October 3, 2017 Awards Ceremony

Sally Osberg, Skoll Foundation president and CEO; and Jeff Skoll’s parents, Mort and Judy Skoll, accepting on behalf of Mr. Skoll.

Robertson, Julian

Julian Robertson

Year

Affiliation

Areas of Focus

Education | Environment | Medical Research

Medal Citation: 2017 Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy

Writing in the North American Review in 1906, Andrew Carnegie declared that wealth “should be administered as a sacred trust . . . for the public good.” As his financial empire attained extraordinary success, Julian Robertson—like Mr. Carnegie before him—generously committed his knowledge, time, and resources to help others to advance as well.

Mr. Robertson was born in Salisbury, North Carolina, and attended Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia. By the time he graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he had already established a record of excellence and integrity. His greatest accomplishments, however, were yet to come.

Over the course of two decades at Kidder Peabody, Mr. Robertson rose steadily through the ranks. Starting as a sales trainee, he eventually became CEO of Kidder’s investment advisory subsidiary, Webster Management Corporation. He cofounded Tiger Management in 1980. Under his leadership it grew exponentially into one of the largest and most successful hedge funds of its time—and Mr. Robertson would become known as the “Wizard of Wall Street.”

Mr. Robertson’s parents stressed the importance of philanthropy to their young son, and he, continuing the tradition, encouraged a culture of giving throughout his tenure at Tiger. In 1989 he launched the Tiger Foundation, which began by supporting time-tested nonprofits serving New York City’s neediest families. The foundation’s board devised a comprehensive strategy to address poverty’s root causes, supporting individuals and their communities and focusing on education, employment, youth and families, and the criminal justice system. The foundation has engendered multiple offshoot philanthropies run by “Tiger Cubs,” the new generation of hedge fund managers who moved up the corporate ladder under Mr. Robertson’s tutelage.

In 1996, with his wife, Josie, and family, Mr. Robertson established a separate entity, the Robertson Foundation. Like the Tiger Foundation, the new foundation supports public education in New York City while expanding into other priority areas, such as cutting-edge medical research, addressing the impact of climate change, and leadership development though scholarship programs focusing on these issues at Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The Robertson Foundation also contributes to stem cell research and medical initiatives at Memorial Sloan Kettering and Rockefeller University.

In 1997 Mr. Robertson established The Blanche and Julian Robertson Family Foundation, named in memory of his parents. This endeavor takes him full circle, with a range of initiatives benefitting his hometown in North Carolina.

Despite his modest profile, Mr. Robertson is a compelling force in modern philanthropy. In 2016 Forbes named him one of “America’s 10 Most Generous Philanthropists,” and fellow Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy medalist Eli Broad counts him as one of “The World’s 7 Most Powerful Philanthropists.” For Inside Philanthropy, Mr. Robertson is among “The 18 Most Generous Men on Wall Street.”

The Carnegie family of institutions salutes the range of initiatives conceived and inspired by Mr. Robertson, as well as the extraordinary expertise he has applied to implement them. We are honored to welcome Julian Robertson as a recipient of the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy.

Acceptance Speech Video: October 3, 2017 Awards Ceremony

Photos: October 3, 2017 Awards Ceremony

Premji, Azim

Azim Premji

Year

Affiliation

Areas of Focus

Education

Medal Citation: 2017 Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy

Doing “real and permanent good” is a defining pillar of Andrew Carnegie’s vision of philanthropy. The life of Azim Premji embodies that vision.

Mr. Premji came of age at the dawn of India’s independence, a period that he has described as one of hope, idealism, and sacrifice for the greater good. The heroes of this era included his mother, a medical doctor by training who spent nearly 50 years funding, building, and running a charitable hospital for children with polio and cerebral palsy. Mr. Premji credits his mother as a guide and inspiration for his philanthropy.

As a young man, Mr. Premji went to Stanford University to study engineering. When his father died suddenly in 1966, he returned to India and assumed responsibility for the family business. Western India Vegetable Products Ltd. performed well and advanced under his leadership. Notwithstanding this success, by the arrival of the 1980s Mr. Premji recognized the potential of technology and gradually shifted the company’s focus. He renamed it WIPRO and began specializing in the production of minicomputers. The company became renowned for IT, business process outsourcing, and R&D services. This transformation lifted an already successful company to new heights and extraordinary wealth.

Throughout his career Mr. Premji has remained deeply faithful to Mahatma Gandhi’s belief that the wealthy are trustees of their fortunes and, as such, are obligated to uplift their societies. Reaching a point when others might have rested on their laurels, Mr. Premji delved even further into uncharted territory. His next challenge was a historic one: how to remedy one of the longest-standing inequities in Indian society. Thanks to him, some of the country’s poorest and most marginalized citizens are gaining better access to education.

Today the Azim Premji Foundation’s educational experts are deeply engaged on the ground across seven states in India, helping improve the equity and quality of over 350,000 schools. The foundation’s strategic and comprehensive outreach extends from remote villages to street children in major cities. In turn, many Azim Premji University graduates aid in the foundation’s monumental work, as well as that of other organizations working for social good in India. Mr. Premji’s aim is to emancipate individuals from economic and social dependence through the advancement and diffusion of knowledge, similar to Mr. Carnegie’s own philanthropic goals.

In addition, over the past two years Mr. Premji has established a new grantmaking endeavor, Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives, which supports not-for-profits working on issues ranging from helping women at risk of violence and people with disabilities to improving local self-governance, reducing child malnutrition, and interventions to ameliorate the hardships experienced by small and marginal farmers. This fast-scaling grantmaking initiative complements Mr. Premji’s sustained work in education, all with the goal of helping to build a better India.

It is no surprise that Mr. Premji is the recipient of numerous awards and accolades. He received the Padma Vibhushan, one of India’s highest civilian awards, and France’s Legion of Honor, and in 2011 was named to the “Time 100,” Time magazine’s list of “the most influential people in the world.” The Carnegie family of institutions hails the remarkable Mr. Premji and the conscience, integrity, and compassion that have guided his visionary giving. His devotion to India is of invaluable benefit to both that nation and to the world. We are privileged to count him among the recipients of the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy.

Acceptance Speech Video: October 3, 2017 Awards Ceremony

Photos: October 3, 2017 Awards Ceremony

Lenfest, Marguerite & H. F. “Gerry”

Marguerite & H. F. "Gerry" Lenfest

Year

Affiliation

Areas of Focus

Education

Medal Citation: 2017 Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy

In The Gospel of Wealth, Andrew Carnegie advocated that the rich man act as a “trustee for the poor.” When the sale of their company transported Marguerite and Gerry Lenfest into a new realm of privilege, the couple conceived of a plan that could have been scripted by Mr. Carnegie himself.

An attorney by training, Mr. Lenfest joined Davis Polk, one of New York’s most distinguished law firms, then transitioned into publishing in Philadelphia. He eventually purchased two local cable companies that became Lenfest Communications. Mrs. Lenfest, meanwhile, taught elementary school for several years. Both the Lenfests attribute their accomplishments to the discipline they acquired at school and university, so it is no surprise that education became a cornerstone of their philanthropy.

The couple are deeply involved in the operations of the Lenfest Foundation, which they established in 2000. With programs that extend from preschool to university, the foundation supports “promising strategies that will have a life-changing impact” on children in Pennsylvania. The Lenfest College Scholarship Program, for example, has had an immeasurable impact over many years on students in rural Pennsylvania. In 2011 the foundation’s board of directors expanded its focus to the underprivileged youth of Philadelphia. Making this at-risk demographic a priority, the foundation developed a multiyear, comprehensive plan focusing on career development and leisure-time programs for early learners and junior high school students. The scope of the Lenfests’ philanthropy, however, reaches far beyond Pennsylvania, the state they love and have long called home.

Columbia University, for one, where Mr. Lenfest attended law school, references the “Lenfest Effect,” a term coined to characterize the transformational nature of the couple’s support. Nearly unprecedented in both scale and range, it is felt from the institution’s law school to its medical center to the Earth Institute. In addition, the Lenfests established the Lenfest Ocean Program, a grantmaking organization in Washington, D.C., managed by the Pew Charitable Trusts, which funds research that influences regional and global policy to protect the world’s oceans.

In 2016 Mr. Lenfest donated the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia Daily News, and Philly.com to the Philadelphia Foundation, a local community foundation. Thanks to a generous endowment from the Lenfests, the Lenfest Institute for Journalism is now also part of the foundation’s special assets. Today it is the largest public-benefit news organization in the United States, committed to protecting the integrity of journalism in the region and fostering its evolution to a digital format.

Perhaps one of the most revealing characteristics of the Lenfests’ generosity and authenticity is their innate modesty. In the early years of their philanthropy, they purchased a large plot of land in Chester County, Pennsylvania, with the intention of building a substantial home on the property. The foundation was excavated and the rebar was being placed when the Lenfests abandoned the project. They instead purchased two adjoining properties to create ChesLen, a sprawling 1,263-acre nature preserve where the public is free to walk dogs, ride horses, and enjoy the unspoiled landscape. Meanwhile, the Lenfests remain in the modest home they purchased in 1966.

Mr. and Mrs. Lenfest have received numerous recognitions and awards, honorary doctorates, and instrumental board assignments for the earnest, steadfast, and wide-ranging scope of their benevolence. The Carnegie family of institutions hails them for embodying the essence of generosity, altruism, and dedication to the common good, and wholeheartedly welcomes them to the distinguished roster of recipients of the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy.

Acceptance Speech Video: October 3, 2017 Awards Ceremony

Photos: October 3, 2017 Awards Ceremony

Chak, Mei Hing

Mei Hing Chak

Year

Affiliation

Areas of Focus

Education | Poverty Alleviation | Rescue/Disaster Relief

Medal Citation: 2017 Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy

Mei Hing Chak is a self-made businesswoman whose extraordinary accomplishments—in both commerce and philanthropy—in many ways mirror those of storied industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.

Born and raised in southern China’s Guangdong province, Ms. Chak grew up in a humble household in one of the country’s more prosperous regions. Eager to begin a professional life following high school, she used a small loan from her mother to launch a modest garment business. While not highly successful, the business provided a valuable opportunity to gain expertise, and the experience caused her to set her sights firmly on a different field—the furniture industry.

Ms. Chak’s remarkable dedication to her business persuaded her to forego the comforts of an apartment and, like many of her workers, she lived in the factory in order to save money. Her efforts paid off as her original concept gradually expanded into the largest furniture logistics enterprise in China at that time. Furthermore, she devised a new business model, augmenting the company’s exponential growth. This led her to found the extremely successful Heungkong Group, a conglomerate specializing in furniture retail and logistics, commercial circulation, finance, natural resources and energy, education, healthcare, and property management. Having achieved tremendous success in business, Ms. Chak turned her attention toward an even greater calling—philanthropy.

In 2005 China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs approved the formation of the country’s first nonpublic philanthropic organization. Conceived and spearheaded by Ms. Chak, the Heungkong Charitable Foundation concentrates primarily on education, poverty alleviation, rescue, and disaster relief. To date, the foundation has served over two million needy people, funded 1,500 libraries, sent books to over a million students, given loans to women in rural areas, and provided assistance to more than 80,000 disabled children and elderly citizens.

In the midst of these efforts, Ms. Chak returned to school and received a master’s degree in management from Tulane University. Her remarkable story has been featured on the BBC (“Zhai Meiqing at the Forefront of Chinese Philanthropy”) and in Forbes Asia (“In Asia, 40 Heroes of Philanthropy Are Making Their Mark”).

Ms. Chak’s desire to help uplift the people of China was a significant source of inspiration for her successes in business. The Carnegie family of institutions applauds her selfless generosity and tireless campaign of giving. We believe that Andrew Carnegie would extol the example she has set for a new generation of philanthropists in China, and we are privileged to welcome Mei Hing Chak as a recipient of the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy.

Acceptance Speech Video: October 3, 2017 Awards Ceremony

Photos: October 3, 2017 Awards Ceremony