02.26 / 2018
73
At the beginning of 2018, the simplified Chinese version of Principles was published by CITIC Press Group. With a short period of one month, 500,000 copies were sold, which created another miracle in the Chinese book market. As the author of the book, Ray Dalio is not only “Godfather of Hedge Fund” in the U.S., Founder of Bridgewater Associates, the biggest hedge fund in the world, but also one of the earliest foreign entrepreneurs who came to China after the Open-door Policy. He is also a businessman who is also affectionate about China, is full of feelings, and has a sense of responsibility to society.
On February 26, Ray Dalio embarked on a four-day journey of dialogues with Chinese readers in two places, aiming not only to promote his book but also practice social responsibility and feelings and aspirations mentioned in Principles. The first stop of his visit was China Global Philanthropy Institute where, accompanied by Chairman Ma Weihua and President Wang Zhenyao, he visited the Beijing campus and held a meeting with student representatives and faculties in the Shenzhen campus via video communication.
During the meeting, Ray Dalio talked about how he got to know China Global Philanthropy Institute, “When I took my son to China for philanthropy for the first time, funding was the main problem. As China has developed, funding is no longer a problem. The main difficulty now is now to understand how to better use the raised funds so that they can play a bigger part.” During the transformation period in China, public charity will play a very important role. How to greatly improve the development of Chinese society? As early as December 2012, driven by a shared mission, Ray Dalio and President Wang Zhenyao exchanged ideas and insights during the financial and economic forum. After a series of discussions, Wang Zhenyao’s judgment on the future development of public charity led Ray Dalio to support the president’s ideas.
At the beginning of 2013, in his private mansion in Greenwich, Connecticut, Ray Dalio expressed the hope of supporting China to develop public charity. Wang Zhenyao was honest with the ideas that had been buried in his heart for many years: to set up an institute for the education of philanthropy, just as the Rockefeller Family had built Peking union Medical College Hospital to impact medicine in China for a hundred years. Through meditation, Ray Dalio picked up a pen and jotted down on a piece of paper and discussed with Wang Zhenyao about the blueprint of a philanthropy institute.
At the beginning of 2014, several Chinese and American philanthropists were gathered in Hawaii. What Nu Gensheng from China proposed during East-West Philanthropy Forum was: action, action, and action. Ray Dalio was very excited about it. He expressed, “To do philanthropy, you must be brave enough to shoulder the mission. We can just take actions right this moment. Both Chinese and American philanthropists can provide aid to build up a philanthropy institute in China.” At the time, Ray Dalio had already decided to invite his friend Bill Gates, Co-Chairman of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to participate in the action.
At the beginning of 2015, Ray Dalio and Bill Gates reached an agreement to support the founding of a philanthropy institute in China. However, he proposed matching funding, “For their own matters, the Chinese people should play the leading role.” Chinese Philanthropists Nu Gensheng, He Qiaonv, and Ye Qingjun all agreed on the meaning of philanthropic education in China. The philanthropists from both countries have made a decision to jointly bring into reality the hundred-year-old dream for public charity education in China. On November 12, 2015, the opening ceremony of China Global Philanthropy Institute was held at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse.
Ray Dalio hopes that public charity can really play a very positive role when China is in the transformation period. It was just such a hope that has led China Global Philanthropy Institute to form three teaching products including Global Philanthropy Leaders Program (GPL), Executive Management of Philanthropy (EMP), and a philanthropy online school, which have already exerted influence both home and abroad. Ray Dalio said, “When I go to different places in the world, I can always come across students from China Global Philanthropy Institute. They learn from the best philanthropists in the world, which has made me very happy.”
Ray Dalio believes that China Global Philanthropy Institute is a very important stage for his life. “The main responsibility of my life is to benefit others, which is why I wrote Principles.” He wants to pass on his values down to more people. “Life and death alternate. Body is only a carrier of life, but the gene of philanthropy can be handed down from one generation to another. The spiritual world will be connected to greater existence and last forever.”
The student representatives presented a specially made gift from the CGPI Alumni Association – a carefully designed tie with the logo of the institute. He was very happy to receive the gift and put it on right away. Ray Dalio expressed, “I am very happy to see that our students are passionate, and they enjoy doing philanthropy. China is very well experienced in social development, and a lot of people are very good at making wealth. If they can share resources, they will create more opportunities, so that the whole society can benefit from it.”
