Robert H. Lee
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Robert H. Lee CM OBC (25 June 1933 – 19 February 2020) was a Canadian businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He was the founder and chairman of Prospero, a real estate firm in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Lee was born and raised in Vancouver and grew up in the Chinatown neighbourhood. His father immigrated from China and settled in Vancouver, where he opened a restaurant. Lee worked in his father's restaurant as a cook.
Lee studied at a Chinese school for 12 years. In his early teenage years, he became interested in the real estate business and often shared this interest with his father. He aspired to become an entrepreneur. Lee enrolled at the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia where he studied business and graduated in 1956.[1][2][3][4][5]
After graduating from Sauder, Lee opened a real estate business and began to build an extensive network that included Tong Louie, the founder of the retail store chain London Drugs and philanthropist David Lam, later B.C.'s lieutenant governor, who immigrated to Canada from Hong Kong in 1967.[2]
Lee's breakthrough into real estate came in the 1960s, when there was widespread fear of a Communist China takeover of the British colony of Hong Kong. A mass exodus of Hong Kong Chinese immigrants made their way to Vancouver and many of these newcomers were advised to visit Lee because he could speak their language.
During this time, he expanded his business into apartment building. In 1979, he founded Prospero, which had a diverse real estate portfolio, from retail to office and industrial properties.[1][2][3][4][5] Prospero now has properties in the Okanagan, on Vancouver Island, and in Greater Vancouver. The company also has a property management division and is now run by Lee's son, Derek.
Philanthropy
An ardent philanthropist, Lee donated money to a myriad of causes in Vancouver's Chinatown, including the Chinese School which he graduated from as well as to the University of British Columbia, where the Robert H. Lee Graduate School was named in his honour. He also sent money to his ancestral home village in China. The Robert Lee YMCA (Downtown Vancouver) is named after him in recognition of his leadership donation towards the new facility. A member for 45 years, Mr. Lee made the YMCA a part of his daily life. [2]