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Michael Lee-Chin

From Alfawiki
Michael Lee-Chin
Born (1951-01-03) January 3, 1951 (age 75)
Port Antonio, Jamaica
Occupation(s)Entrepreneur, philanthropist
Years active1965–present
Known forChairman and CEO of Portland Holdings Inc.

Michael Lee-Chin (born 3 January 1951) is a Jamaican-Canadian billionaire entrepreneur and philanthropist, serving as chairman and CEO of Portland Holdings Inc, a privately owned investment firm headquartered in Ontario, Canada.

In 2017, Lee-Chin was honored with an appointment to the Order of Ontario.

He was named chairman of Jamaica's Economic Growth Council (EGC) by the government in 2016.

Lee-Chin has contributed generously to several Canadian institutions, including the Royal Ontario Museum (2003), the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, McMaster University, and the Joseph Brant Hospital Foundation. Additionally, he held the position of chancellor at Wilfrid Laurier University.

Early life

Born in Port Antonio, Jamaica, in 1951, Lee-Chin is the son of Aston Lee and Hyacinth Gloria Chen, both of mixed African and Jamaican-Chinese heritage. When he was seven years old, his mother married Vincent Chen, who had a son from a previous relationship; together they had seven children. His mother worked as a bookkeeper and sold Avon merchandise, while his stepfather operated a grocery store. Lee-Chin attended Titchfield High from 1962 until 1969.

Career

Lee-Chin’s early employment began in 1965 with landscaping work at the Frenchman's Cove Hotel, followed by a position on the Jamaica Queen cruise ship.

Awarded a Jamaican government scholarship in 1970, he pursued studies in Civil Engineering at McMaster University, graduating in 1974. After a brief stint as a road engineer in Jamaica and encountering limited career prospects there, he returned to Canada to pursue graduate business education. Initially employed as a bouncer, he quickly transitioned to become a financial advisor with Investors Group.

After two years with Investors Group, Lee-Chin took on the role of regional manager at Regal Capital Planners. In 1983, he obtained a C$500,000 loan from the Continental Bank of Canada to acquire shares in Mackenzie Financial Group and co-founded Kicks Athletics. By 1987, this investment had appreciated to C$3.5 million.

That same year, he purchased Advantage Investment Council (a branch of AIC Limited) for $200,000 and rebranded it as AIC. Under his leadership, AIC grew into a fund managing close to C$6 billion with hundreds of thousands of investors. He also created the Berkshire group encompassing investment planning, securities trading, and insurance services. By 2007, Berkshire’s assets under management exceeded C$12 billion. In that year, Manulife acquired Berkshire from Portland Holdings through a share exchange deal that positioned Portland as one of Manulife’s largest shareholders.

In 2009, Lee-Chin sold AIC Limited to Manulife; by the following year, Manulife had rebranded all AIC funds.

Lee-Chin is the founder and Chairman of Portland Holdings Inc., serves as chairman and director of Mandeville Holdings Inc., and holds the roles of Executive Chairman, CEO, and Portfolio Manager at Portland Investment Counsel Inc.

Investments 1990–2005

During the late 1980s, AIC suffered setbacks due to a downturn in the real estate sector but rebounded in the early 1990s by acquiring stakes in prominent companies such as Merrill Lynch and TD Bank. This strategic move propelled the firm's investment portfolio from US$8 million in 1990 to nearly US$8 billion by 1998.

Lee-Chin chose to steer clear of the dotcom surge, which led to an 8% loss for AIC, even as the S&P index surged by 56%. This underperformance triggered withdrawals totaling US$224 million from AIC’s "Advantage Mutual Fund," raising liquidity concerns among investors. In response, Lee-Chin sold shares of Coca-Cola and invested US$65 million into Mackenzie Holdings, which helped restore investor confidence. The Mackenzie stock was later divested at more than twice the original acquisition cost. Following the dotcom collapse, AIC recorded a robust 26% gain in 2000 and experienced a slight 4% downturn in 2001.

In November 2003, AIC was among 106 Canadian mutual fund firms investigated. Although no proof emerged that employees engaged in late trading or market timing, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) found that between 1999 and 2003, AIC permitted certain third-party investors to execute market timing trades that generated $127 million in profits. The OSC judged this behavior as contrary to public interest. As a result, in December 2004, AIC reimbursed CAD $58.8 million to impacted investors—the highest penalty among all firms examined.

On October 5, 2006, Lee-Chin stepped down from his role as CEO, with Jonathan Wellum, then chief investment officer at AIC, assuming the position.

In 2005, Portland Holdings broadened its holdings by acquiring two investment managers specializing in structured financial products. Copernican Capital Corporation raised over C$800 million through ten closed-end funds primarily distributed via brokers. Meanwhile, Markland Street Asset Management introduced the Oil Sands Sector Fund, amassing C$430 million in one of Canada’s largest closed-end IPOs.

Personal life

Lee-Chin married Vera Lee-Chin, a Ukrainian Canadian he met during university, in 1974. The couple separated in 1997 and later divorced. Vera challenged the terms of their separation, claiming that Lee-Chin had not fully disclosed his wealth. They have three sons: Michael Jr., Paul, and Adrian.

Currently, Lee-Chin resides in Burlington, Ontario with his wife Sonya Lee-Chin and their fraternal twin daughters, Elizabeth and Maria.

Wealth

Forbes first recognized Lee-Chin as a billionaire in 2010. Since then, his net worth has fluctuated between $1 billion and $2 billion, estimated at approximately $1.4 billion as of June 2023.

Lee-Chin is well-known in Ontario for his extensive collection of Ferrari automobiles, featuring models such as the LaFerrari, Ferrari 599 GTO, Ferrari F12tdf, and Ferrari Enzo.

In 2021, he purchased the Lürssen superyacht Ahpo, measuring 115.10 meters and valued around US$354 million (CA$474 million). During construction, it was codenamed Project Enzo as a tribute to his enthusiasm for Ferraris. In 2023, Lee-Chin sold the yacht to Canadian billionaire Patrick Dovigi, who renamed it Lady Jorgia.

Philanthropy

In 2003, Lee-Chin committed $30 million to the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), with one-third of this amount paid by 2015. He also contributed $10 million to the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto to establish the Michael Lee-Chin Family Institute for Corporate Citizenship, aimed at integrating corporate citizenship principles into business strategies.

In September 2014, Lee-Chin and his family donated $10 million to the Joseph Brant Hospital Foundation. Their philanthropic efforts were recognized with the National Philanthropy Award for Outstanding Philanthropist by the Association of Fundraising Professionals' Golden Horseshoe Chapter in 2015.

Caribbean investments

Amid Jamaica's financial turmoil in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Lee-Chin recognized promising investment prospects. Portland purchased a 75% interest in the National Commercial Bank of Jamaica for J$6 billion (approximately US$127 million). In 2003, the company launched Senvia Money Services Inc., a global remittance business, and the following year acquired Trinidad's AIC Financial Group Limited.

Lee-Chin introduced the AIC Caribbean Fund with a target of raising US$1 billion to invest across CARICOM nations, concentrating on markets such as Jamaica, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago. This fund has undertaken several significant acquisitions.

In 2006, Portland obtained an 85% controlling stake in United General Insurance Company, Jamaica’s leading automobile insurer, subsequently rebranding it as Advantage General Insurance Company. The firm also gained majority ownership of CVM Communications Group, which includes radio stations, television outlets, and newspapers. Additionally, Portland collaborated with Canada’s Risley Group to establish Columbus Communications Ltd, which manages various Caribbean telecommunications providers like Cable Bahamas Ltd and Merit Communications Ltd.

Within the tourism sector, Portland expanded by acquiring properties such as Trident Villas and Spa, Reggae Beach, and Blue Lagoon in Jamaica. The group's initial healthcare acquisition was Medical Associates Ltd., a private hospital in Kingston announced in July 2006.

Avoidance of commodities during boom

Following his established investment philosophy from the late 1990s, Lee-Chin deliberately refrained from participating in the commodities and energy sector surge. He expressed that "We [AIC] avoid commodities-related businesses and most high-tech firms because they tend to be inherently weak enterprises unsuitable for long-term holdings."

This cautious approach caused AIC to lag behind the S&P index performance; however, Lee-Chin argued in 2006 that the ongoing boom represented another speculative bubble. He described the market dynamics since 1990 as "a sequence of successive speculations" and currently identifies the trend as "a commodities bubble."

Strategic business approach

During his tenure at Investors Group, Lee-Chin studied renowned investors such as Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham, and Kenneth Thomson. Their philosophy of buy and hold investing is embodied in AIC’s slogan: Buy, hold and prosper. He also targets public investment management companies that gain from both portfolio growth and increased client inflows during bullish markets.

Enterprises owned or managed by Michael Lee Chin

  • Columbus Communications –
    • Columbus Communications Jamaica Ltd / Flow Jamaica
      • FibraLink
      • CVM Television Group
      • Merit Communications
      • Sauce Cable Company
        • Affordable Enterprise Ltd
        • Cabana Cable Ltd
        • Dynamic Corp (developer of Eastern Cable Network Ltd)
        • Home Commercial Satellite Ltd
        • Universal Cable Network Ltd
    • Columbus Communications Trinidad Ltd / Flow Trinidad
    • Columbus Communications Grenada Ltd / Flow Grenada
  • Eastern Caribbean Gas Pipeline Company (ECGPC)
  • National Commercial Bank Jamaica (NCB)
  • Radio Jamaica
  • Reggae Beach resort, Jamaica
  • Senvia
  • Total Finance Bank of Trinidad & Tobago Ltd
  • Trident Hotel (Resort)
  • Wallenford Coffee

See also

External links

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