How Hong Kong and China’s billionaire heiresses are being groomed for greatness
From Michelle Li, granddaughter of Li Ka-shing, Hong Kong’s richest man, to China’s wealthiest businesswoman, Yang Huiyan, women are taking over family conglomerates
Asia’s billionaire family boardrooms are making way for heiresses.
Michelle Li, the 23-year-old granddaughter of Li Ka-shing, Hong Kong’s richest person, has joined him, her father and uncle on the board of Chesterfield Realty, a family-controlled unit of CK Hutchison Holdings, according to the Hong Kong Company Registry.
She’s among third-generation women being groomed for leadership at conglomerates created by some of Hong Kong’s wealthiest patriarchs. While her father, Victor Li, took the reins last year from Li Ka-shing, 90, as chairman of the group’s flagship companies, her appointment shows that succession planning is already under way for a generation from now.
Harvard University graduate Sonia Cheng runs the Rosewood Hotels arm of New World Development, founded by her grandfather Cheng Yu-tung. Kristine Li, the eldest granddaughter of property tycoon Lee Shau-kee, studied at Stanford University and is a deputy general manager at Henderson Land Development.
Glass ceiling
“These women have a lot to contribute and could become good role models if they take up leadership,” said Petula Ho, a professor in the department of Social Work and Social Administration at the University of Hong Kong, where two out of 10 professors are women.
“But this is very class-biased and they come from really rich families. For others, the glass ceiling is very true. Hong Kong is still a man’s world.”
