Crouching Tiger star Chow Yun-fat pledges to give $700m fortune to charity

'This money isn't something you possess forever,' he told a South Korean broadcaster

Chow Yun-fat poses for photographs during a photocall in London, on 17 June, 2008 (SHAUN CURRY/AFP/Getty Images)

Chow Yun-fat has announced he will donate his $700m fortune to charity after he dies.

The actor – who is best known to western audiences for the likes of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End – was included in Forbes's list of highest paid actors in the world for the first time in 2015, when he shared 24th place with Russell Crowe.

In Hong Kong, however, the star, 63, is famous for his modest lifestyle, having been spotted taking public transport and queueing for tickets to watch his own film, according to The Guardian.

His wife, Jasmine Tan, has said her husband often eats at street stalls and used a Nokia flip-phone for years, only trading it in when it had finally stopped working.

“This money isn’t something you possess forever. When you’re gone one day, you have to leave it to others to use it,” Chow told South Korea’s Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation.

“You can’t bring the money in your bank account with you after you die.”

He added that his wife “strongly supports” his decision. His fortune is currently valued at 5.6 bn Hong Kong dollars ($700m or £542m).

The actor, affectionally called "Brother Fat" in Hong Kong, was praised for acting in opposition to the city's obsession with displays of extreme wealth amongst its mega-rich. Hong Kong's wealth gap was at its widest for nearly half a century last year.

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