George Sze Kwong Chao was the youngest son of Shanghainese lawyer-turned-shipowner Tsong-Yea Chao (TY Chao), who migrated to the then British colony of Hong Kong in 1948 during the communist takeover of China. He set up Wah Kwong in 1952.

TY Chao would later hand over control of the company to his two sons, Frank and George, and despite a sometimes acrimonious relationship, with frequent family infighting for control of the shipping empire, the two continued to steer the company through some of the industry’s most tumultuous cycles.