# Milton Wong

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{{Short description|Canadian businessman, financier and philanthropist}}
'''Milton Wong''' {{post-nominals|country=CAN|OC|OBC}} (born February 12, 1939 - December 31, 2011) was a Canadian businessman, financier, and philanthropist.<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Alden E. Habacon|title=Honouring Milton Wong - "I Have an Idea for a Magazine"|url=http://schemamag.ca/2012/01/04/milton_wong_honouring_a_mentor/#.XY1lgiwo7mI|magazine=Schema Magazine|date=January 4, 2012}}</ref> Wong became one of Canada's most prolific money managers and was the Chairman of [HSBC](/source/HSBC). Many of his peers consider him one of the most innovative and tenacious financiers of his generation.  Combined with his business acumen, Milton mentored and enabled an entire community of businessmen and investors.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://maytree.com/blog/2012/01/remembering-milton-wong/|title=Remembering Milton Wong|date=January 23, 2012|accessdate=November 29, 2012|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331041924/http://maytree.com/blog/2012/01/remembering-milton-wong/|archivedate=March 31, 2012|df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref name=gm>{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/milton-wong-a-tireless-philanthropist-brought-a-lot-to-the-table/article551971/|title=Milton Wong, a tireless philanthropist, brought a lot to the table|author=Robert Matas|work=[The Globe and Mail](/source/The_Globe_and_Mail)|date=January 2, 2012|accessdate=September 27, 2019}}</ref>

==Early life==
Milton was born to Chinese immigrant parents Wong Kung Lai and Wong Chu Man.<ref name=vs>{{cite news|author=Stephen Hume|work=[Vancouver Sun](/source/Vancouver_Sun)|url=https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/canada-150-milton-wong-was-one-of-b-c-s-greatest-benefactors|title=Canada 150: Milton Wong was one of B.C.'s greatest benefactors|date=March 20, 2017|accessdate=September 27, 2019}}</ref> He was the second-youngest of a family with four daughters and five sons. His father started a shop which was named Modernize Tailors in 1913. He was raised in [Vancouver's Chinatown](/source/Chinatown%2C_Vancouver). After graduating from high school at [Vancouver Technical Secondary](/source/Vancouver_Technical_Secondary), he went on to study economics and political science at the [University of British Columbia](/source/University_of_British_Columbia).<ref name=vs/>

==Career==
Wong's foray in finance started after graduating from University in 1963 and together with co-founder Doug Knight, Milton started his financial management company, M.K. Wong and associates.<ref name=bcb>{{cite web|url=https://www.bcbusiness.ca/vancouver-biggest-fund-managers|title=Vancouver's Biggest Money Managers|author=Nick Rockel|date=February 4, 2013|accessdate=September 27, 2019}}</ref> He later sold this firm to HSBC and became the head of HSBC Asset Manager (Canada) Ltd where took on managing billions of dollars within global assets.<ref name=gm/>

In addition to being a financier, he was an active venture capitalist and invested in numerous start-ups which include Nurse Next Door (a home care company) and Perceptronix Medical Inc. (a company that specializes in early cancer detection testing).  He was a significant shareholder and director in a local medical imaging technology company named ALI Technologies Ltd, which was acquired by [McKesson Corporation](/source/McKesson_Corporation) for $530 million US on May 3, 2002.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/mckesson-to-buy-bcs-ali/article1022945/|title=McKesson to buy B.C.'s ALI|author=Wendy Stueck|work=The Globe and Mail|date=May 3, 2002|accessdate=September 27, 2019}}</ref> After the acquisition closed, ALI Technologies was renamed to McKesson Medical Imaging and maintains a significant R&D presence in [Richmond, British Columbia](/source/Richmond%2C_British_Columbia).

In 1986,<ref>[https://www.sauder.ubc.ca/Faculty/Divisions/Finance_Division/Programs/PMF_Program/Program_History PMF Program History]</ref> Milton collaborated with Murray Leith Sr and Michael Ryan to fund and establish the Portfolio Management Foundation program<ref>[https://www.sauder.ubc.ca/Faculty/Divisions/Finance_Division/Programs/PMF_Program Portfolio Management Foundation]</ref> at UBC's [Sauder School of Business](/source/Sauder_School_of_Business).<ref name=gm/> This program is now home to the largest student run investment portfolio in Canada (valued at over 9 million CAD) and has many notable alumni and mentors.<ref>[https://www.sauder.ubc.ca/Faculty/Divisions/Finance_Division/Programs/PMF_Program/Program_Overview PMF Program Overview]</ref> Its influence on Vancouver's investment community has been significant.<ref name=bcb/>

He was also a friend of former B.C. premier [Mike Harcourt](/source/Mike_Harcourt) and a driving force behind Vancouver's [Science World](/source/Science_World_(Vancouver)) and a broker of British Columbia's first modern-day land claims agreement.<ref name=gm/><ref name=cbc>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/business-leader-milton-wong-dies-at-72-1.1266405|title=Business leader Milton Wong dies at 72|website=[CBC.ca](/source/CBC.ca)|date=January 2, 2012|accessdate=September 27, 2019}}</ref>

Wong had Christian roots.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2012/01/24/milton-wongs-surprising-christian-roots/|author=Douglas Todd|title=Milton Wong's surprising spiritual roots|work=Vancouver Sun|date=January 24, 2012|accessdate=September 27, 2019}}</ref>

==Boards and memberships==
In addition to being active in the world of Canadian finance, he has been on the boards of a myriad of organizations.<ref name=cbc/><ref name=gm/>
*[Simon Fraser University](/source/Simon_Fraser_University) Chancellor
*BC Cancer Foundation Co-chair
*co-founder of the International Dragon Boat Festival
*[Salvation Army](/source/Salvation_Army)
*[YMCA](/source/YMCA)
*[Canadian Red Cross](/source/Canadian_Red_Cross)
*[David Suzuki Foundation](/source/David_Suzuki_Foundation)
*[Vancouver General Hospital](/source/Vancouver_General_Hospital)
*[https://thelaurier.ca/ Founder of the Laurier Institution]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.ubc.ca/2012/01/02/milton-wong-1939-2011/|title=Milton Wong, 1939 – 2011|publisher=University of British Columbia|date=January 2, 2012|accessdate=September 27, 2019}}</ref>
*[Rio Tinto Alcan](/source/Rio_Tinto_Alcan)<ref name=bloomberg>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/people.asp?privcapId=248823 |title=Milton Wong Profile |website=[Bloomberg News](/source/Bloomberg_News) |access-date=2018-09-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180903215356/https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/people.asp?privcapId=248823 |archive-date=2018-09-03 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
*Genome British Columbia<ref name=bloomberg/>

==Death and legacy==
He died on December 31, 2011, at the age of 72 from complications of pancreatic cancer.<ref name=gm/>

He won the Freedom of the City Award of Vancouver for his outstanding contributions to the city.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vancouver.ca/your-government/milton-wong.aspx|title=Milton Wong|accessdate=September 27, 2019}}</ref> He has been honoured with numerous awards such as the [Order of Canada](/source/Order_of_Canada) and the [Order of British Columbia](/source/Order_of_British_Columbia) and has been commended by numerous Vancouver politicians such as [Gregor Robertson](/source/Gregor_Robertson_(politician)) and B.C. NDP Leader [Adrian Dix](/source/Adrian_Dix) for his business acumen, financial impact, civic leadership, and contributions to Canada.<ref name=cbc/> In 2013 the Canadian International Dragon Boat Festival Society established the Milton K Wong Legacy Project to honour his memory.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dragonboatbc.ca/legacyproject/|title=Milton K. Wong Legacy Project|publisher=Canadian International Dragon Boat Festival Society|accessdate=September 27, 2019}}</ref>

Two years prior to his death, a theatre was named in his and his wife's honour, Fei and Milton Wong Experimental Theatre.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://montecristomagazine.com/magazine/spring-2011/philanthropist-milton-wong|author=Nasreen Gulamhusein|title=Philanthropist Milton Wong|magazine=Montecristo Magazine|date=March 21, 2011}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wong, Milton}}
Category:1939 births
Category:2011 deaths
Category:Businesspeople from Vancouver
Category:Canadian Anglicans
Category:Canadian chief executives
Category:Canadian financiers
Category:Canadian investors
Category:Canadian money managers
Category:Canadian people of Chinese descent
Category:Deaths from pancreatic cancer
Category:HSBC people
Category:Members of the Order of British Columbia
Category:Members of the Order of Canada
Category:Simon Fraser University people
Category:20th-century Canadian philanthropists
Category:Chancellors of Simon Fraser University

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Milton Wong](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_Wong) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_Wong?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.