Tycoons take hit in no-longer-quite-so-rich list

The owners of Hong Kong's 40 deepest pockets ended last year about US$97 billion poorer, and 21 of them lost their status as US-dollar billionaires as stock prices plummeted and the economy see-sawed, the latest rich list from Forbes Asia shows.

In a list dominated by property magnates, there was no change to the top three rankings. Tycoon Li Ka-shing remained in first place with an estimated US$16.2 billion. Despite losing one-half of his net worth, Mr Li, 80, who controls Cheung Kong (Holdings) and Hutchison Whampoa, still enjoys a significant lead over his closest rivals, the Kwok brothers of Sun Hung Kai Properties.

Raymond Kwok Ping-luen, Thomas Kwok Ping-kwong and Walter Kwok Ping-sheung saw their combined fortune shrink to some US$10.8 billion from about US$24 billion a year earlier.

At No3, Lee Shau-kee, who holds big interests on the mainland as chairman of real estate giant Henderson Land Development, was worth about US$9 billion - down from about US$23 billion a year ago. His son Martin Lee Ka-shing married actress and model Cathy Chui Chi-kay in December 2006 in a Sydney wedding estimated to have cost HK$100 million.

The biggest loser was Macau's casino magnate, Stanley Ho Hung-sun, at No19 with US$1 billion. His holdings were valued at as much as US$9 billion in 2007, when he was ranked fifth, but he took his gaming company public last July amid weak investor sentiment.

Forbes senior editor Russell Flannery said: 'Hong Kong's openness has helped it thrive in good times. Yet today, when so many major economies around the world are in recession, it's tough for Hong Kong to avoid taking a hit along with everyone else.'