No-one could ever accuse Sir Gordon Wu of being a shrinking violet.
From grandiose infrastructure plans across Asia to outlandish verbal outbursts about jumping into Victoria Harbour, the Hopewell Holdings magnate knows how to make waves.
The son of a taxi driver, in 1993 Sir Gordon, 63, famously promised to jump into Victoria Harbour if his Guangzhou-Shenzhen superhighway project did not finish on deadline.
The project did not, and - so far - neither has he.
During the World Bank-IMF meeting in September 1997 he revealed how much he loved bankers - by taking out full page newspaper advertisements announcing the fact.
Asia's financial meltdown dealt him another blow in the shape of his ambitious US$3.2 billion (HK$24.7 billion) elevated road and rail project in Thailand which was suspended as the currency plummeted.
