Helmut Sohmen
Helmut Sohmen (born December 10, 1939 in Linz ) is an Austrian lawyer and manager in Hong Kong .
In 2012, he was the fifth richest Austrian in the Forbes list with an estimated fortune of 1.3 billion dollars. In 2009 he was ranked 13th in the "List of the Richest Hong Kongers". In 2016, Forbes valued his fortune at 2.3 billion dollars (771th place on Forbes' The World's Billionaires list ). He is now number 7 on the list of the richest Austrians .
Life
Sohmen grew up in Linz and graduated from the Linz Realschule (Fading School) with distinction in 1958 . He began studying law at the University of Vienna , continued it with a Fulbright scholarship at the University of Connecticut in the USA and finally did his doctorate in Vienna .
Before he even started his career, he married Anna Pui Hing Pao in 1967, the daughter of a shipowner, whom he had met while studying in Canada . Sohmen is the father of three sons. Anna Pui Hing Sohmen-Pao took on various functions in Hong Kong, including becoming a member of the Political Consultative Conference of the Chinese People . Since 2005 she has been the holder of the Silver Bauhinia Star order .
Professional background
His first employment was as a legal advisor to the Royal Bank of Canada in Montreal . Helmut Sohmen later interrupted his professional activity several times in order to obtain a Master of Comparative Law and a Master of Laws .
In 1970, he went with his family to Hong Kong, where his father-in-law, Sir Yue-Kong Pao , owned one of the largest shipping companies in the world, to get into its business.
After stints in Bermuda (1974) and in London (1977), he finally moved to Hong Kong in 1981, where he was initially general manager and largest shareholder of Hong Kong Dragon Airlines Limited (now Cathay Dragon ) from 1985 to 1989 .
From 1986 he was Chairman and President of his father-in-law's World-Wide Shipping Group .
In 2003, his company acquired the majority of the Norwegian Bergesen fleet, and since then his shipping empire has been called Bergesen-Worldwide (now BW Group ). His group includes 140 tankers and more than 4,500 employees (2010).
Functions
- 1984 to 1996 first member of the supervisory board and from 1996 to 2005 deputy chairman of the supervisory board of HSBC , from 1990 to 2007 also member of the supervisory board of the parent company HSBC Holdings Plc, London.
- until 1994 director of Harbor Center Development Limited (Hong Kong Shipowners Association), Hong Kong
- President of the Baltic and International Maritime Council , Copenhagen
- Member of the Hong Kong Parliament
- Chairman of the Hong Kong-Austrian Association, Vienna.
- 1986 to 2001 board member and 2001 to 2006 chairman of the board of the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation , London
- 2000 to 2008 University Council of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
- 1986 to 1989 initially Vice President and 1989 to 1990 President of the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce
- 1996 to 1998 Vice Chairman and 1998 to 2000 Chairman of the Pacific Basin Economic Council (PBEC)
- 2000 member of the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Business Advisory Council (in connection with the chairmanship of PBEC)
- 1998 to 2002 member of the Executive Committee of the Hong Kong Club , then Vice President from 2002 to 2003 and President from 2003 to 2004
- Chairman of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts
- Chairman of the Hong Kong Anti-Corruption Review Commission
- Honorary President of the Austrian Society for the Promotion of Friendly and Cultural Relations with the People's Republic of China (ÖGCF)
- President of the Sohmen Far East Foundation
- Member of the international advisory committee of the Austrian Federal Chancellor
Awards
- Honorary Doctorate from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
- Honorary doctorate from the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts
- 1990 Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
- 1995 Nomination in the Eminent Persons Group by the EU Commission (16-member advisory body for the two economic blocs EU and ASEAN )
- 1995 Great Golden Medal of the City of Linz
- 1995 Austrian Abroad of the Year in the World Federation of Austrians Abroad
- 1998 Schumpeter Prize from the Schumpeter Society
- 2009 Gold Medal of Honor of the Province of Upper Austria
- 2009 Shipowner of the Year
Foundations
- 1987 Establishment of the Egon Sohmen Foundation in memory of his brother Egon Sohmen (* 1930, † 1977). The foundation promotes economic research and wants to participate in important public policy debates. To this end, she initiates her own top-class international symposia as well as annual lectures at universities where Egon Sohmen himself worked. A separate publication will be issued. Scientific advisor was Herbert Giersch until 1999 and Bernd Hansjürgens since 2002 .
- 1991 Sohmen-Far-East-Foundation (SFEF - Sohmen-Far-East-Foundation) established in Vaduz , with the aim of enabling young Austrians to make initial contacts in the Asian economic area. The foundation's operational advisory board is based in his home town of Linz. These grants give qualified scholars the opportunity to broaden their horizons and make business contacts.
- 1993 Establishment of the Sohmen China Foundation to promote the Austrian Society for the Promotion of Amicable and Cultural Relations with the People's Republic of China (ÖGCF). A large number of cultural and intellectual events are supported and grants for visiting programs, educational concerns, activities in Austria and the issuing of relevant publications are supported. In 1996 and 2003 exhibitions were co-organized in Shanghai and 2003 in Beijing on Tian'anmen Square .
- 2008 Announcement of the Helmut Sohmen Composition Prize, endowed with £ 15,000 on the occasion of the Haydn Year 2009 at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna and at the same time at the Hong Kong University of Music. Prize winners were Thomas Wally in Vienna and Lok Yin Tang in Hong Kong .
Web links
- Entry on Helmut Sohmen in the Austria Forum (in the AEIOU Austria Lexicon )
- Website of the Sohmen Far East Foundation: Portrait of Helmut Sohmen
- State of Upper Austria: Shipowner Helmut Sohmen received the state's “Golden Decoration” ( memento from June 19, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
Individual evidence
- ↑ Helmut Sohmen: From Linz to the World and into the Billionaire League ( Memento from October 4, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) ,wirtschaftsblatt.at, queried on March 12, 2010
- ^ The World's Billionaires List. In: forbes.com , Retrieved April 20, 2016.
- ↑ List of chairmen of the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce consulted on March 12, 2010
- ↑ Book for the 40th anniversary of the organization, p. 11. ( PBEC 40th Anniversary Book 2007 )
- ↑ PBEC Chairmen In: pbec.org , accessed on February 19, 2019.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Sohmen, Helmut |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Austrian manager in Hong Kong, fourth richest Austrian |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 10, 1939 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Linz |