"Someday when I get rich, I'm gonna take care of all my friends, family, and anyone else who helped me along the way." I bet everyone reading this article has made a similar promise at some point in their life. Maybe that means someday you'll use your money to buy your parents a house. Maybe you'll donate money to your high school, help raise money for a hospital, or donate to someone's college fund. The possibilities are endless. Yet for some reason, when many people actually strike it rich, their earlier philanthropic promises end up being hard to keep. When that happens, people are accused of "forgetting where they came from". Well there is one person in this world who most certainly never hear that accusation lobbed his way. That man is rags to riches Chinese tycoon Xiong Shuihua, who just surprised the poor residents of his home village with an absolutely amazing gift…
Xiong Shuihua is a 54 year old business tycoon who made his first fortune in the construction business. He then multiplied his millions by investing in the steel industry. Xiong is a true example of someone who literally went from rags to riches. He was born in a humble village called Xiongkeng which is located in the city of the Xinyu, China. Growing up, his family was very poor. In fact, everyone who grew up in Xiongkeng was poor. Even as recently as two years ago, this little village was made up of muddy roads and wooden huts that did not have electricity or running water.
Where the villagers lacked in wealth, they more than compensated with community support. Families looked out for other families. Elderly people and children were cared for by the community. Kids were expected to go to school and get good grades. Several decades ago, one of those kids with high expectations was Xiong Shuihua. And he did not end up disappointing.
Earlier this week, Xiong Shuihua revealed an amazing surprise to the people of Xiongkeng:
"I earned more money than I knew what to do with, and I didn't want to forget my roots. I always pay my debts, and wanted to make sure the people who helped me when I was younger and my family were paid back."
How did Xiong decide to remember his roots? He bought the entire village of Xiongkeng. He then demolished it with bulldozers. Wait… what?!?
You read that correctly. He bought his home village and bulldozed all the muddy roads and wooden huts. He then proceeded to build a brand new town in its place made of luxury townhouses. So did this business tycoon then sell off all the townhouses for a healthy profit? NOPE. When construction was done, Xiong did something amazing. He proceeded to give all of those luxury apartments away to the poor former residents… completely for free! The village now has a playground, art, and lush landscaping.
Just a few years ago, many of these people did not have electricity or running water. Now, 72 families are living in luxurious apartments. 18 families who were especially kind and helpful during his childhood years were given private single family homes. And as if all this wasn't amazing enough, Xiong is also promising to cover the costs of providing daily meals for the village's elderly residents.
In total, Xiong Shuihua spent $6.5 million of his own money to construct the new apartments and homes.
Pretty amazing right? When you make a huge fortune, how will you remember your roots?
