Jamaica
News - Real Estate - Finance
Source: The Jamaica Observer, March 23, 2007)
Lee-Chin
makes Forbes billionaires edition again
Founder and Chairman of Canadian mutual fund company AIC, Michael Lee-Chin
appears on this month's front cover of Forbes' Billionaires Edition coming in at
618 with an estimated net worth of US$1.6 billion. The list is still headed by
Microsoft founder, Bill Gates, who at 51 has an estimated net worth of US$56
billion.
At 56, this is the seventh time Lee-Chin has
made the prestigious list and the first time he has appeared on the front cover
of the billionaires edition. He is the first Jamaican to do so.
Speaking with Caribbean Business Report last
night Lee-Chin said: "I am very proud and honoured to have appeared on
Forbes' Billionaires Edition's front cover. There are two other blacks on the
list namely Oprah Winfrey and Robert Johnson of BET, both from the world of
entertainment where blacks traditionally tend to excel. With a career in
financial services I have broken the mould and this should be an inspiration to
other black people particularly those young people who are pursuing a career in
financial services."
A leading member of the Jamaican business
community echoed this sentiment. "Many black people look to entertainment
and sports as a way out. Mike Lee-Chin is a true inspiration because he has
succeeded in the world of business, which is not particularly the purview of
Caribbean people. You ask most Caribbean youngsters out there what do they want
to be and whom do they regard as successful.
The answer invariably is entertainers and sports
stars.
"Lee-Chin's appearance in Forbes is a
remarkable feat and one all Caribbean people should be proud of because he is
one of us."
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