Wellington Koo Net Worth

Background and career

Koo Vi Kyuin (Chinese: 顧維鈞; pinyin: Gù Wéijūn; Wade–Giles: Ku Wei-chün; 29 January 1888 – 14 November 1985), better known as V. K. Wellington Koo, was a Chinese diplomat.

Born in Shanghai, Koo studied in the United States, where he earned three degrees, including his doctorate in international law and diplomacy, from Columbia University. On his return to China in 1912, he became Yuan Shikai's secretary for foreign affairs, and in 1919, was a member of China's delegation at the Paris Peace Conference, where he unsuccessfully demanded the return of Shandong. He served as the Chinese ambassador to Great Britain the next year. Between 1922 and 1927, Koo successively served the Beiyang government as minister of foreign affairs, minister of finance, acting premier, and president. After the Northern Expedition toppled the government in 1928, Koo joined the Nationalist government and continued his diplomatic career.

In 1931, he represented China at the League of Nations to protest the Japanese invasion of Manchuria. He served as China's ambassador to France and Great Britain during World War II, and in 1945 represented China at the signing of the Charter of the United Nations. From 1946 to 1956, he served as the Republic of China's ambassador to the United States, and sat as a judge on the International Court of Justice in the Hague from 1957 to 1967. He retired to New York and died at the age of 97.