Silas Aaron (Ṣāliḥ Hārūn) Hardoon was born in Baghdad around 1851 and emigrated with his father to Bombay in 1865. He worked for David Sassoon & Company (see Sassoon Family) in Hong Kong from 1870 to 1874, then moved on to the International Settlement of Shanghai, where he at first held a lowly job. Although he had no formal education, his exceptional business acumen enabled him to become a partner and manager of E. D. Sassoon and Company (1890–1911). He branched out, dealing mainly in property. When he died his estate, which included most…