Li Ka-shing, Lee Shau-kee, and Henry Cheng hold on to top 3 spots in Forbes Hong Kong Richest list

Of the city’s top 50 billionaires, 20 of them made their fortunes in property, six in the manufacturing sector and four in logistics
Li, former chairman of CK Hutchison Holdings, remained the city’s richest man with a net worth of US$39 billion, up US$3 billion from 2022

Millionaires and billionaires

Elise Makin Beijing

Published: 1:27pm, 23 Feb 2023

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Billionaires Li Ka-shing, Lee Shau-kee, and Henry Cheng are once again the three wealthiest people in Hong Kong, according to Forbes.

In the Forbes Hong Kong Richest list published on Wednesday that revealed the city’s top 50 billionaires, 20 of them made their fortunes in property, six in the manufacturing sector and four in logistics. The 50 tycoons now have a combined wealth of US$324 billion, down US$4 billion from last year.

The 94-year old Li, former chairman of CK Hutchison Holdings, remained the city’s richest man with a diversified business that gave him a net worth of US$39 billion, up US$3 billion from 2022.

While the property market has been weak, real estate mogul Lee, aged 95, retained second place despite a 11 per cent decline in net worth to US$30.3 billion.

Henry Cheng, the son of the late magnate Cheng Yu-tung, has been in third place since 2020. As demand for gold rings and necklaces rose, his Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group shares increased nearly 20 per cent to US$28.9 billion, increasing his fortune by US$2.5 billion.

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The five Lee siblings – Charlie, Sammy, Eddy, David and Elizabeth – whose family rose to fortune with the Lee Kum Kee brand, have accumulated a nest egg of US$19.3 billion and secured the fourth spot.

Four other real estate tycoons made it to the top 10.

Peter Woo, the former chairman of property developer Wheelock, secured fifth spot with US$16.9 billion.

Next in line is Kwong Siu-hing, widow of Sun Hung Kai Properties co-founder Kwok Tak-seng, with US$15.2 billion.

Joseph Lau, who held the reins at Chinese Estates until 2014, has a net worth of US$13.2 billion, making him the eighth richest.

Francis Choi, founder of the world’s largest toymaker, Early Light International, takes the 10th spot with US$8.2 billion, thanks to his extensive property portfolio in China, Hong Kong and Australia.

Also in the top ten are Alibaba Group co-founder Joseph Tsai with US$8 billion, and Lui Che Woo, who has made US$14.3 billion through Macau casino operator Galaxy Entertainment Group and property developer K. Wah International Holdings.

Forbes said the only newcomer to this year’s top 50 list is David Fong, co-chairman of property developer Hip Shing Hong Group, who took the spot of his late father, Fong Yun Wah, with US$2.3 billion.

While Hong Kong’s economy contracted by 3.5 per cent in 2022, some still managed to increase their fortunes.

The biggest windfall came to private equity billionaire Jean Salata, who doubled his net worth to US$5.9 billion after selling his Baring Private Equity Asia to Stockholm-based EQT in a US$6.7 billion deal last October.

Some were less fortunate. Founders of smartphone glass cover maker Biel Crystal, Yeung Kin-man and Lam Wai-ping, saw their riches plunge by half to US$4.4 billion as declining global demand for smartphones made the company delay its IPO.

Tang Xiao’ou, the college professor who founded AI firm SenseTime, saw his net worth plummet 60 per cent to US$2.5 billion. He is still the 33rd richest person in Hong Kong, down from 16th place last year.