Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c5.s3.t14: Ellis and Elly Kadoorie
Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c5.s3.t14
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Ellis and Elly Kadoorie
v1.c5.s3.t14.1
Ellis Kadoorie (1865-1922) and Elly (Eleazer Silas) Kadoorie (1867-1944) were two brothers from the Baghdadi Jewish community of Bombay who established the foundations of a big business empire in Hong Kong during the late 19th century. Today, CLP Holdings, the main company of the Kadoorie Group, which was founded in 1890, supplies power to a major portion of Hong Kong. The total wealth of the family is estimated to be nearly US$10 billion.
v1.c5.s3.t14.2
Elly Kadoorie came out to Hong Kong at the age of 15. He initially worked for the immensely successful fellow Jewish business family, the Sassoons, and served in Shanghai, Tianjin, Ningbo and other treaty ports. Although he prospered in the service of the Sassoons, he decided to set up on his own, borrowing some money from his brother Ellis who joined him in Hong Kong in 1883. He set up the brokerage firm of Benjamin, Kelly and Potts in Hong Kong. The brothers also developed their business interests in Shanghai. During the period of World War I, they acquired stakes in the China Light Company in Hong Kong and in Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels. In Shanghai, Elly Kadoorie’s residence was the fabulous Marble Hall which he built on what is today’s Yan’an Xi Lu. During the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong and China, Elly Kadoorie was interned first in Hong Kong and then in Shanghai. He died in Shanghai in 1944 just after being released from the Zhabei internment camp on medical grounds.
v1.c5.s3.t14.3
*Kadoorie Family*
v1.c5.s3.t14.4
The Kadoories were well-known for their charitable endowments, particularly in the sphere of education. Among other things, Ellis Kadoorie established a school for Chinese boys in Hong Kong which was acknowledged by the British authorities there to be "one of the finest school buildings in the Colony". He built five other schools as well for Chinese students including in Guangzhou (Canton) and Shanghai. He also set up a school for Indian boys in Hong Kong as he believed that their requirements were different from those of Chinese students.
v1.c5.s3.t14.5
*The Marble Hall, residence of Ellis and Elly Kadoorie in Shanghai, now known as the Children’s Palace of the Chinese Welfare Association.*
v1.c5.s3.t14.6
After the death of Ellis and Elly Kadoorie, their business empire was managed by Elly’s sons, Lawrence and Horace.