My Take | The problems facing Hong Kong’s seriously rich
Scions of the city’s wealthiest families are now taking charge of multibillion-dollar businesses, but without the clout that their fathers and grandfathers enjoyed
“Superman” Li Ka-shing has announced his retirement and handed over the baton to his eldest son, Victor Li Tzar-kuoi. It has been the same story for the families of other prominent tycoons. Second, third or even fourth-generation offspring are taking over the families’ business empires.
What does this mean for Hong Kong, a city whose fortunes have long been tied to the property market controlled by a handful of families?
Hundreds turn out to say goodbye as ‘Superman Li’ hangs up cape
It’s perhaps the end of the so-called property hegemony – of the local, family-controlled variety anyway. But whether such local capital will be, or has already been, replaced by “red capital”, is a different subject for another column.
Our ageing tycoons used to have a direct line to Beijing, undue influence over the Hong Kong government, and unrivalled advantages from the city’s land sales system that has kept property prices abnormally high.
While flat and land prices are still at stratospheric levels, the political advantages those families once enjoyed have diminished considerably. One simple reason is that their children and grandchildren simply don’t command the same respect from those in charge of the levers of government, in Hong Kong or on the mainland.
They also have to operate in a social and political environment that can be openly hostile to their business interests. Long gone are the day when the likes of Li commanded respect and admiration from the public.