
Li Ka-Shing teaches you how to buy a car and house in 5 years - swohns
http://therealsingapore.com/content/hong-kong-billionaire-li-ka-shing-teaches-you-how-buy-car-house-5-years
======
ck2
So:

1\. don't be unemployed or under-employed (he clearly says it is your fault if
so)

2\. don't get sick, not mentioned anywhere what happens then, does HK have
universal healthcare?

This sounds a bit like McDonald's financial advice to their employees

[http://www.nbcnews.com/business/personal-
finance/mcdonalds-f...](http://www.nbcnews.com/business/personal-
finance/mcdonalds-finance-guide-insulting-low-wage-workers-f6C10653604)

btw, this guy made his money by buying cheap real-estate and got lucky when
prices went up:

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Ka-
shing#Real_estate](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Ka-shing#Real_estate)

 _In reality, Li went to school for a couple of years and then started working
for a wealthy uncle (from the family that owns Hong Kong 's Chung Nam Watch
Co.). Subsequently he became part of an important subcategory of tycoons who
got ahead, in part, by marrying the boss's daughter._

~~~
ctz
HK has one of the best public healthcare systems in the world (modelled after
the NHS before handover, and benefiting from HK's prosperity after), and as a
result does extremely well in infant mortality and life expectancy metrics.

~~~
ck2
This is actually great to hear. Now why doesn't the US, sigh.

~~~
daliusd
US has reasonably good system IMHO just a little bit expensive.

~~~
ck2
A little bit?

There are many millions without insurance in the USA.

I was quoted $80 for an antibiotic I needed last week.

~~~
bmurphy1976
That's not fair. What antibiotic and how much of it? Not all antibiotics are
equal.

You are right, the prices in our system are out of control but your example
does not sufficiently demonstrate the problem.

------
jfasi
I find it fascinating that that the consensus among the responses in this
thread seems to be somewhere between Li Ka-Shing being a hypocrite, that
buying food for people richer than you is crazy, that his advice is useless,
etc.

Sure, there are cultural incongruities. Americans don't understand buying
lunch for your superiors, and the advice to beat yourself up if you fail to
see progress is directly opposed to the "do your best" attitude that lives on
this side of the Pacific, but the lessons are the same.

In the end, the moral is simple: wheeling and dealing. Being crafty. Placing
yourself in a situation where opportunities find you, not vice versa. Focusing
your personal development on becoming competent enough to act on your
opportunities.

What bugs me is that this sort of hustling is necessary to thrive in any
business, not just software. I suspect HN's criticism of this advice might be
a sign of wantrepreneurship rather entrepreneurship.

~~~
angersock
You completely misunderstand the "Curse of the Gifted".

The point of that article was that _hustle will only take you so far_ , and
after that point real engineering projects require design and process, least
of all because you need to interact with other people. Write software on a
team, work on a large project, and you'll understand this better.

The things espoused by this guy are more a function of good luck and
parasitism than hustle--do not mistake one for the other.

~~~
jfasi
You're right, I did slightly misinterpret the post. I've removed it and
supported my argument in a different way.

Also I don't appreciate the implication that I don't write software on a team
for a large project, because I do.

------
theboss
I don't see why a lot of people disagree with his advice. Perhaps it is the
words he uses. These are his basic divisions of cash.

1\. Live cheaply. Don't waste money where you don't need to.

2\. Expand your network by being nice and friendly to people.

3\. Learn and invest in your future.

4\. Take time off, travel the world and expand your horizons.

5\. Save money. This is ideally used to start your dream. In reality, this can
be used in times of trouble.

What's so bad about that? I think this is good advice for anyone trying to
``make it''.

~~~
noodle
I think the problem people seem to have is that it is standard, stereotypical
advice. The entire premise is built upon the fact that you have a job that
pays enough money to allow you to do the things he's suggesting -- people with
untapped upward mobility.

If you're in a situation where you're working multiple jobs (or can't find any
jobs) just to be able to "eat poorly", you won't have the time or money to
network, invest in your future, travel, or save up.

------
tszming
I am from Hong Kong, the article appears to be a spam/fake article:
[http://finance.sina.com.hk/news/-3-5652018/1.html](http://finance.sina.com.hk/news/-3-5652018/1.html)
(Chinese)

~~~
cflee
Google Translate might not be very clear, but the article actually says that
Li Ka-Shing denied authorship of this article on 20 February 2013. (Yes,
2013!)

This current resurgence is probably linked to an English translation being
posted on e27 in the past 24 hours, before being subsequently picked up by
TRS: [http://mirror.e27.co/li-ka-shing-teaches-buy-car-
house-5-yea...](http://mirror.e27.co/li-ka-shing-teaches-buy-car-
house-5-years/)

Just a note that The Real Singapore is not representative of Singapore's media
scene.. while it is not quite an equivalent of The Onion, it is also not the
first news source for most locals. I am quite embarrassed to see it linked to
on HN.

------
tsiki
>Famous theory from Harvard: The difference of a person’s fate is decided from
what a person spends in his free time between 20:00 to 22:00.

Anyone know the source for this theory? I'd like to know more about it but
googling turned up nothing but links to this article.

------
russell_h
I actually like his categories:

    
    
        1. Living expenses - 30%
        2. Networking      - 20%
        3. Education       - 15%
        4. Travel          - 10%
        5. Savings         - 25%
    

But his living expenses category seems to exclude housing costs - is there
some cultural peculiarity that accounts for that?

~~~
apalmer
Probably the fact its somewhat expected for asian youths to live at home with
their parents until they are well established

~~~
goutmaximum
Which, in Hong Kong, is likely to happen when you are 35 and have kids
already. All living in about 400~600sqft.

------
oskarth
_Well, after struggling for a year and if your second year salary is still RMB
2,000, then that means you have not grown as a person. You should be really
ashamed of yourself. Do yourself a favour and go to the supermarket and buy
the hardest tofu. Take it and smash it on your head because you deserve that._

This is hilarious. I wish people in western media would say things like this
more often.

------
ronaldx
"Always remember to buy lunch for people who are richer than you"

I have spotted a conflict of interest here.

~~~
acconrad
Not to mention his ultimate paradox of spending money on others when you are
poor and spend money on yourself when you are rich.

~~~
ronaldx
Apart from the impracticality of this advice, I found it strangely
misanthropic. Essentially: "be generous now so you can afford to be even more
selfish later".

------
goatforce5
His pro-tip seems to be to get a 150% pay rise after 12 months.

~~~
yen223
To be fair, going from monthly income of RMB2000 to RMB3000 in a year is not a
particularly difficult task. Most corporate types will get that just by
showing up.

~~~
goatforce5
> By the second year, your income should be increased to at least RMB 5,000.
> Minimum it should be RMB 3,000, otherwise you would not be able to keep up
> with inflation.

He's saying to expect to go from RMB 2,000 to _at least_ RMB 5,000.

------
tarekmoz
[..] Well, after struggling for a year and if your second year salary is still
RMB 2,000, then that means you have not grown as a person. You should be
really ashamed of yourself. Do yourself a favour and go to the supermarket and
buy the hardest tofu. Take it and smash it on your head because you deserve
that.[..]

Hahaha smash your head with tofu if you don't get a raise. :))

~~~
samstave
The idea make me curdle!

------
andypants
"Living expenses" is not just food. What about rent, utilities, taxes, health,
debts?

~~~
tomkarlo
As others have pointed out, the (regional) expectation may be that the subject
is living at home with their parents (rent / utilities), that there's state-
provided healthcare and education (debt). At this income level you might not
be paying much income tax, either.

~30% of my post-tax take-home goes to rent, which is pretty typical in the US.
If I didn't have to pay that, I'm sure I could save a bunch more!

------
Aqueous
"Well, after struggling for a year and if your second year salary is still RMB
2,000, then that means you have not grown as a person. You should be really
ashamed of yourself. Do yourself a favour and go to the supermarket and buy
the hardest tofu. Take it and smash it on your head because you deserve that."

The supermarket is fresh out of hard tofu...

------
seferphier
'The problem with quotes on the Internet is that it is hard to verify their
authenticity.' \- Abraham Lincoln

------
sdegutis
His "network" advice is really just "how to use people", and it's
reprehensible.

------
aashishkoirala
Is this guy for real?

~~~
ihaveajob
Nope, it seems to be a hoax.

------
naterator
_Suppose your monthly income is only RMB 2,000, you can live well. I can help
you put money into five sets of funds. The first $600, second $400, third
$300, fourth $200, fifth $500._

Da fuq? Are we talking about renminbi or dollars here? Either way... terrible
article.

~~~
seszett
the "$" sign is often used as a general currency sign.

Since 600+400+300+200+500 == 2000, the article is obviously talking about
renminbi. And it doesn't matter a lot.

The writer probably didn't have a 元 or a ¥ on his keyboard and didn't know
about ¤.

------
sdegutis
> _Well, after struggling for a year and if your second year salary is still
> RMB 2,000, then that means you have not grown as a person. You should be
> really ashamed of yourself._

Lost all credibility right here.

------
ulfw
Follow this and you will become a billionaire too?

------
the_watcher
Did I miss it or did he leave out rent?

