The gilded granddaughters – and daughters – who are shaking up Hong Kong and China’s boardrooms
The next generation of women entrepreneurs is wasting little time following in the footsteps of their fathers and grandfathers
Forbes estimates the collective fortune of Hong Kong billionaires rose US$60 billion last year. The rich are getting richer – and older.
Before you imagine a stuffy boardroom of thinning grey hair and thicker wallets, recent news of Meng Wanzhou, Huawei’s chief financial officer, as well as the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, shows that the next generation are following in their fathers’ – or grandfathers’ – footsteps.
In Meng’s case, those steps are a little more arresting than most.
Here are a few of the gilded granddaughters (and daughters) of Hong Kong and China that are set to shake-up the boardroom.
1. Michelle Li
Grandfather: Li Ka-shing, the richest man in Hong Kong, who retired in 2018 with a strong family succession plan.
There is surprisingly little public information about 23-year old Michelle Li, with only recent sightings of her and her grandfather together at the racecourse in October last year. According to the Hong Kong company registry, Michelle was named director of Chesterfield Realty, a private company owned by the elder Li, in December 2018.
2. Sonia Cheng
