Teddy Yip

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Teddy Yip , actually Theodore Yip ( Chinese  葉德利  /  叶德利 , Pinyin Yè Délì , Jyutping Jip 6 Dak 1 lei 6 ; * June 2, 1907 or June 4, 1913 in Medan , Indonesia ; † July 11, 2003 in Hong Kong , People's Republic of China ) , was a businessman mainly active in East Asia , who ran numerous casinos and made a significant contribution to the tourist development of Macau . He also became internationally known for his involvement in motor racing , which at times included the operation of his Formula 1 team, Theodore Racing, and the organization of the traditional Macau Grand Prix . The extroverted Yip was often referred to as "the grand old man of Macau".

Life

Theodore Yip was born - depending on the source - in 1907 or 1913 on the Indonesian island of Sumatra , which at that time belonged to the colonial empire of the Dutch East Indies . He was of Chinese descent and his family was a Hakka ethnic group . Yip was a Dutch citizen .

In the 1930s, Yip completed an apprenticeship in the Netherlands, but then returned to East Asia. In 1942 he settled in Hong Kong , where he initially worked for the local branch of the NCR Corporation before setting up an import and export business for rice. He later participated in travel agencies, hotels and casinos. Yip spoke numerous languages, including six Mandarin dialects, as well as Malay, Thai, English, French, Portuguese, Dutch and German. This versatility made it easier for him to develop extensive business relationships that led to considerable economic success. In the 1970s, Yip was one of the wealthiest business people in Asia. Some sources refer to him as a billionaire, others speak of "a great fortune". He was considered a bon vivant who spent a lot of money on comfort and luxury.

Teddy Yip was married three times, most recently to Susie Ho, the younger sister of his business partner Stanley Ho. He had seven children. His youngest son, Teddy Yip Jr. , born in 1983, works in motorsport management; among other things, he operated the UK-based racing team Status Grand Prix .

Teddy Yip used to speak of himself in the third person; he called himself by his first name.

Yip died in July 2003, aged 90 or 96. In the East Asian region, the media reported about Yip for several weeks; the funeral ceremony was broadcast on numerous regional television stations.

Businessman in Macau

Run by Teddy Yips STDM: The Casino Lisboa in Macau

In 1962, Teddy Yip founded the Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau (STDM, German Macau Travel and Entertainment Company) together with his brother-in-law Stanley Ho and six other businessmen in Macau , a company organized under private law that temporarily had the monopoly on gambling in the Portuguese colony held and maintained other activities in the leisure and tourism industry. Yip initially held a 27 percent stake in STDM and was Executive Director . The casinos in particular made Macau attractive to regional tourists. Until the liberalization of the market, the STDM generated around 60 percent of Macau's gross domestic product.  

Yip, in particular, has been associated with the company's success. He is considered one of the central figures in the tourist development of Macau.

The income from the STDM enabled Yip to set up numerous other businesses. He owned, among others, a shipping line with hydrofoils , the Hong Kong Association of Macau. In addition, he was general importer of various European automobile manufacturers in various East and South Asian markets; for example, he imported Alfa Romeos to Thailand .

In 1992, Yip sold his last stake in STDM to his brother-in-law Stanley Ho.

Motorsport

The economic success of his companies enabled Yip to devote his free time to motorsport since the 1950s. Until 1963 he took part as a driver in automobile races, especially the Macau Grand Prix, which he finished third in 1963. Yip then concentrated on sponsoring various racing drivers and running his own racing team, which he competed in Formula 1 until the 1980s and also regularly in Macau. With Alan Jones , Keke Rosberg , Ayrton Senna and Mika Häkkinen , four Formula 1 world champions drove for Teddy Yip over the years.

A Theodore TR1 from 1978
Jan Lammers in Theodore TY02 from 1982

In the early 1970s, a chance meeting with Irish racing car designer Sid Taylor Yips sparked interest in international motorsport. From 1974 to 1976, Yip initially supported the Formula 5000 outings of Alan Jones , Brian Redman and Vern Schuppan . In 1974 Teddy Yip first appeared in Formula 1, three years later in the American cart series. In Formula 1, he drove on several tracks. In addition to supporting independent racing teams such as Ensign , Shadow and RAM , Yip established its own Theodore Racing team in this motorsport class, which at times even constructed its own vehicles. At the same time, Yips racing team took part in the Aurora series , which was held according to Formula 1 rules . Yip's cars were usually marked with Chinese characters, which in the eyes of contemporary observers gave them a "mysterious aura". Yip's greatest success in motorsport was when Keke Rosberg won the last edition of the BRDC International Trophy held according to Formula 1 rules in a Theodore car in 1978 . At the beginning of the 1980s, Theodore Racing, Shadow and Ensign merged; In the increasingly complex Formula 1, however, Yips racing team could not keep up. Theodore Racing did not score any world championship points. When asked about the poor success of his racing team, Yip explained at a press conference: “What does that matter? The girls will still be there! ”The Formula 1 involvement ended in 1983, and Theodore Racing was still involved in the North American cart sport for a few more years.

Yip also supported drivers in Formula 1 who did not drive for his team. Among them was the South African Desiré Wilson , who bought Yips money for two Formula 1 world championship races at RAM and Tyrrell .

Macau Grand Prix

Teddy Yip is considered one of the initiators of the Macau Grand Prix. The race, which was held for the first time in 1954, initially had the aim of making the Portuguese colony off the People's Republic of China interesting for tourists from Southeast Asia, but above all from neighboring Hong Kong. For the first seven years it was a sports car race for amateurs, later it was advertised as a Formula Libre race, and from 1973 to 1982 it followed the rules of Formula Pacific , which in turn was based on Formula Atlantic . On the initiative of Teddy Yip, a changeover to the Formula 3 regulations took place in 1983 , which quickly proved to be a success. It is one of the most important Formula 3 races today. The first Formula 3 race in Macau was won by Ayrton Senna, who drove for Teddy Yips Theodore Racing Team.

literature

  • Richard W. Butler, Roslyn Russell: Giants of Tourism. CABI 2010, ISBN 978-1-84593-653-2 .
  • Bertil Lintner: Blood Brothers: Crime, Business, and Politics in Asia , Silkworm Books, 2002, ISBN 978-974-75517-9-2 .
  • Philip Newsome: Teddy Yip. From Macau to the World and Back. Hong Kong 2012, ISBN 978-988-17053-1-0 .
  • Victor Zheng: Chinese Family Business and the Equal Inheritance System: Unraveling the Myth , Routledge, 2009, ISBN 978-1-13517-215-2 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Teddy Yips biography on the website www.grandprix.com
  2. ↑ a b c d e f Shav Glick: Yep, the man named Yip was unforgettable. www.latimes.com, July 18, 2002, accessed April 3, 2015 .
  3. ↑ a b c d e Obituary for Teddy Yip in the South China Morning Post .
  4. ↑ Biography on the website www.winners-circle.de
  5. ↑ a b Ménard: La Grande Encyclopédie de la Formule 1. p. 238.
  6. ↑ See the team biography on the website www.grandprix.com (accessed on April 3, 2015).
  7. ^ Victor Zheng, Chinese Family Business and the Equal Inheritance System: Unraveling the Myth , Routledge, 2009, ISBN 978-1-13517-215-2 , p. 108.
  8. ↑ Teddy Yip's biography on the website www.historicracing.com ( Memento of the original from April 27, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , there with the wrong date of birth (accessed on April 4, 2015). @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.historicracing.com
  9. ^ A b c Newman MK Lam, Ian Scott: Gaming, Governance and Public Policy in Macao , Hong Kong University Press, ISBN 978-988-8083-28-2 , p. 23.
  10. ^ Richard W. Butler, Roslyn Russell: Giants of Tourism , CABI 2010, ISBN 978-1-84593-653-2 , p. 175.
  11. ↑ Teddy Yips biography in the Macau Grand Prix Gazette. Vol. 1 Issue 1 2003.
  12. ^ Bertil Lintner: Blood Brothers: Crime, Business, and Politics in Asia , Silkworm Books, 2002, ISBN 978-974-75517-9-2 , p. 111.
  13. ↑ Alan Wilson: Driven by Desire. The Desire Wilson Story . Veloce Publishing Ltd, 2011, ISBN 978-1-84584-389-2 .
personal data
SURNAME Yip, teddy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Yip, Theodore (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Motorsport manager
DATE OF BIRTH June 2, 1907
PLACE OF BIRTH Medan , Indonesia
DATE OF DEATH July 11, 2003
Place of death Hong Kong , People's Republic of China