Chinese Tycoon Donates a Billion Dollars to Charity

China's Yu Pengnian made a fortune in real estate, and now he's giving it back. The 88-year-old tycoon has slowly been transferring his wealth to his Yu Pengnian Foundation, and now he's gone the final step, pledging his final $470 million in cash and property to the charity.

This makes $1.2 billion he has put into his charity since he opened it in 2003, according to China Daily.

"This will be my last donation. I have nothing more to give away," he said at a press conference announcing the final donation.

The Yu Pengnian Foundation funds cataract surgeries for people in China. More than 150,000 surgeries have been performed in the last seven years. It also provides other monetary support for people in China's poorest regions.

Yu has several children, none of whom will inherit any of his fortunes, a move he says his children agree with. "If my children are more capable than me, it's not necessary to leave a lot of money to them. If they are incompetent, a lot of money will only be harmful to them," he said.

Yu started out poor, and suffered from cataracts, which inspired him to start his charitable foundation.

Photo by jimmiehomeschoolmom via Flickr.