Eu Tong Sen

Early life Eu was born in Penang, Malaya on 23 July 1877. His grandfather, He Song, a feng shui master, was originally from Jiangxi but moved to Foshan in Guangdong, China. His father, Eu Kong Pui (a.k.a. Eu Kong) became a Chinese immigrant from Foshan and went to Penang to work as a grocery shop assistant and later laid the foundation for his son's fortune by starting tin mining and other businesses. Eu's mother Leong Lay Yong stayed in Foshan until brought to Penang, where Eu Kong had married a second wife, Mun Woon Chang, who was well-connected in Malaya. Eu Kong died in Penang in 1890 at the age of 38.

Eu built his fortune by acquiring from the British, monopolies for tax or revenue farming (opium, alcohol or spirits, gambling and pawn broking) in Perak in the 1880s and when tin started to boom, he acquired land for mining tin. He expanded this to retailing and taxing goods from China that he sold to the miners he employed However, with the sudden death of his father, he found himself, at only 13, heir to the family estates and tin mining businesses. He returned to Malaya in 1892 but his stay with his two uncles and his stepmother was short. He moved to the home of R. Butler and lived there for two and a half years, taking private tuition in English from F. W. Harley. From there he moved to Ipoh and enrolled in a government school. He transformed the business his father left him, originating from that single dispensary in Gopeng, into a chain of traditional medicine shops. In 1908 his medicine shops in Kampar and Gopeng were flourishing. As the remittance and medicines businesses expanded, branches were set up in Penang, Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong and Singapore. In 1909, Eu established a branch in the Sheung Wan district of Hong Kong. As his branches increased and his business spread out geographically, his potential market grew accordingly.

In 1914, he expanded the remittance business to reach throughout Malaya as well as the Dutch East Indies, Hong Kong, and southern China. meaning it was set up to cater mainly to the Cantonese (or Cantonese-speaking) community.

Philanthropy Eu donated HK$55,000 to the University of Hong Kong during one of his visits there in 1918.

Outside of his businesses, Eu was an early admirer of the Shaw brothers (Run Run Shaw and Runme Shaw) and invited them to Singapore as his guests. He also organised and oversaw the 1928 construction on that same street of the Majestic Theatre, a performing hall for Cantonese opera, and for forming an opera troupe to perform there, all to entertain one of his wives who was a fan of Cantonese opera. Later, he would become the first non-European commoner to be admitted to the Royal Ipoh Club.

Eu and Chung Thye Phin, the Kapitan China of Perak, were "blood" brothers. They went through a Chinese ceremony to become oath brothers. When Chung travelled to Hong Kong, he stayed in Eu's villa there and they kept an account of his expenses in the company's account books. Eu and Chung had common interests in motorcars, racehorses, country houses, etc. In 1903 when the Ipoh Gymkhana Club was founded, both of them decided to enter their thoroughbreds regularly in the Ipoh races. They jointly built a weekend retreat, "Forest Lodge", at Gopeng Road with a large stable. When Eu was appointed to the Federal Council, Chung sold his half-lot to Eu, who desired grander accommodations following the latter's elevation in status. In 1908, together with Chung, Eu built a large Chinese theatre in the important mining town of Kampar near Ipoh.

Eu took a keen interest in horse-racing, motoring and rifle-shooting. He imported the first motor car into Perak. was donated to Osborn Barracks in Kowloon where it stayed for 20 years before being relocated to Hong Kong Park.

Death Eu died of a heart attack on 11 May 1941 in Hong Kong at the age of 63.