Property developers have topped a Hong Kong rich list, according to Forbes magazine. The city’s wealthiest are now worth US$135 billion, up from US$82 billion a year ago, but still well below the peak of US$179 billion in 2008.
As China goes, so too does Hong Kong these days, usually for the better but not without risks, as evidenced by the Hang Seng's recent pullback in response to the Chinese government's plans to tighten lending.
This is particularly true for the city's richest businesspeople, who have largely been upping their bets on the mainland, investing billions in buildings, shops and hotels. Peter Woo's Wheelock is finishing construction on one of Shanghai's tallest towers. Hang Lung Group, run by Ronnie Chan, gets 40 per cent of its rental income from Shanghai. Over a dozen of Hong Kong's 40 richest have substantial real estate investments there.
The mainland has also bolstered fortunes in Hong Kong and Macau as affluent Chinese tourists spend their money in the city's stores, hotels and casinos. All of this has helped push up the total net worth of Hong Kong's richest.
Li Ka-shing is again the city's richest, gaining US$5 billion, though still worth a lot less than his 2008 estimate of US$32 billion. Not one list member is poorer. Twenty-four of the returning tycoons added at least 50 per cent to their net worths.
Forbes’ list was compiled using shareholding and financial information obtained from the families and individuals themselves, stock exchanges and analysts. Stock prices and exchange rates were locked in on 22 January. Private companies were valued based on comparison with prevailing earnings or other financial ratios.
Hong Kong Billionaires
1. Li Ka-shing, 81, widowed, 2 children, US$21.3 billion His Cheung Kong paid US$100 million for shares in Russian aluminium maker Rusal ahead of its January Hong Kong listing; his Hutchison Whampoa offered US$545 million to take its telecom subsidiary private. Li's been buying up shares in both firms. Oil firm Husky Energy, in which he has big stake, made another big gas discovery in the South China Sea in 2009.
Li Ka Shing
2. Lee Shau Kee, 82, divorced, 5 children, US$19 billion Lee's wealth rebounded, thanks in part to doubling share price of his property firm, Henderson Land. Active investor with stakes in such outperfomers as China Shenhua Energy. Chairman of Hong Kong & China Gas, which distributes gas in more than 90 cities.
Lee Shau Kee
3. Kwok family, US$17 billion Walter, who ran family's property firm Sun Hung Kai Properties for 18 years before being replaced by his two younger brothers, Thomas and Raymond, in 2008, dropped his lawsuit alleging improper dismissal last year and is now a non-executive director. Mother, Kwong Siu-hing, is non-executive chairman. The firm is finishing construction of Hong Kong's tallest building, the International Commerce Centre. It opened a replica of Noah's Ark in Hong Kong in May as a tourist attraction.
Kwok family
4. Cheng Yu-tung, 84, married, 4 children, US$7 billion His New World Development, which launched a Facebook page in December, reportedly hired bankers for upcoming debt road show. Cheng's personal investment firm bought stakes in Ming Fung Jewelry, New Times Energy, property firm Evergrande.
Cheng Yu-tung
5. Joseph Lau, 59, divorced, 4 children, US$6 billion One of Hong Kong's biggest landlords kept occupancy rates above 90% at his Chinese Estates despite downturn. Launched first development in Chengdu. Spent $9.5 million for a 7.03-carat blue diamond, which he renamed "Star of Josephine" after youngest daughter.
Joseph Lau
6. Michael Kadoorie, 68, married, 3 children, US$5 billion Power generator CLP is still core of Kadoorie's wealth, but Hongkong & Shanghai Hotels generated some of best returns last year. It opened the Peninsula in Shanghai, the city where the family got its start before leaving in the wake of the Communist revolution. It took control of the Peninsula in Chicago.
Michael Kadoori
7. Peter Woo, 64, married US$4.2 billion Wheelock, whose main subsidiary, the Wharf (portfolio includes Hong Kong's Times Square, Harbour City), rebounded along with real estate sector. The group is close to finishing one of Shanghai's tallest structures in prestigious Jing'an district. Its I-Cable is bidding for a free-to-air broadcast licence, the city's third.
Peter Woo
8. Chen Din Hwa, 87, US$3.2 billion His Nan Fung Group first made money in textiles; it is now a property developer, with interests also in shipping. Partnering with HSBC to invest in property in China, the two recently formed a venture with UK's Tesco to invest in malls. Chen owns minority stake in Sino Land.
Chen Din Hwa
9. William Fung, 60, married, 1 child, US$3 billion
William Fung
10. Victor Fung, 63, married, 2 children, US$2.9 billion Outsourcing giant Li & Fung just signed an agreement to act as a buying agent for Walmart. Last year, it picked up Liz Clairborne's sourcing operations in Asia, became exclusive sourcing agent for Talbots, and bought children's apparel maker Wear Me and footwear supplier Shubiz. William, who was named to Singapore Airlines board in January, is managing director; brother Victor, a US citizen, is chairman. Possible successor: Victor's son Spencer, an executive director. The brothers own stakes in newly public luxury men’s wear retailer Trinity.
Victor Fung
11. Chee Chen (CC) Tung, 66, married, US$2.89 billion The family's shipping firm, Orient Overseas, lost US$231 million in the first half of 2009. Its stock jumped in January after it sold US$2.2 billion worth of mainland property. CC has headed Orient since brother Tung Chee Hwa stepped down to lead Hong Kong's government between 1997 and 2005.
CC Tung
12. Ronnie & Gerald Chan, 60/58, US$2.6 billion Hang Lung Group, the property developer that Ronnie heads, gets more than 40 per cent of its rental income from Shanghai, through such landmarks as Plaza 66. It uses the same digits on other mainland projects in Dalian, Tianjin and elsewhere. Gerald leads the family's Morningside Group, with interests in media, Internet and life sciences.
Ronnie Chan
13. Michael Ying, 60, married, 3 children, US$2.5 billion The former chief of Esprit steadily reduced his stake in the apparel maker, pocketing close to US$2 billion over time. He retains almost 9 per cent in the company, which just reported its first annual profit decline in a decade. Said to be an amateur palaeontologist, he is married to former Taiwanese actress Brigitte Lin.
Michael Ying
14. Richard Elman, 69, married, 4 children, US$2.3 billion The British national has run commodities trading firm, Noble Group, from Hong Kong for more than two decades. He recently sold part of his stake to a Chinese-government-owned investment firm; he still has 24 per cent. Elman grew up in Brighton; he quit school at 15. He worked in scrap business in the US, Japan, Thailand, and India. Later, he became the regional director of commodities trader Phibro.
Richard Elman
15. Patrick Lee, 66, married, 5 children, US$2.25 billion The net worth of Lee & Man Paper's founder, which dropped from US$3.2 billion to US$485 million last year, has more than quadrupled as stock recovered strongly, making him the year's biggest percentage gainer. The group's delayed Vietnam expansion is apparently back on track.
