HONG Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing is the richest Chinese in East Asia and probably the richest in the world, with a fortune of US$7 billion, according to business magazine Forbes Zibenjia .
Mr Li, who controls the Cheung Kong and Hutchison Whampoa groups, topped the magazine's survey of the wealthiest ethnic Chinese in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Southeast Asia.
The chairman of Sun Hung Kai Properties, Walter Kwok Ping-sheung, and his brothers Raymond and Thomas rank next to Mr Li, with $6.5 billion.
Rocketing property prices in Hong Kong are believed to be a major factor behind the substantial growth in the wealth of Mr Li and the Kwoks.
Taiwan insurance magnate Tsai Wan-lin, with $6.3 billion, takes third place.
Fourth are Malaysian tycoon Robert Kuok, sometimes referred as the sugar king, who controls the Kerry Group and Shangri-La hotel chain, and Indonesia's tycoon Soedono Salim. Their wealth is estimated at $6 billion each.
