Li Ka-shing worth US$30b as property billionaires hog Hong Kong wealth pile
(01-10 14:12)
Billionaire Li Ka-shing still remains Hong Kong's richest person, Forbes magazine said today. The 84-year-old added US$8 billion to his wealth last year and is now estimated to be worth US$30 billion, the magazine said as it announced Hong Kong's top 50 rich list.
Li commands a vast empire through his flagship Cheung Kong Holdings with global assets in property, telecoms, utilities, ports and retail, AFP reports. One in every seven residences in Hong Kong, was built by Li's firms, which also handle 70 percent of the port traffic.
The second richest man was real estate developer Henderson Land chairman Lee Shau-kee, also 84, whose wealth gained by US$3 billion to US$20 billion last year after the blue-chip stock climbed over 40 percent.
The Kwok family, which controls Sun Hung Kai Properties, added nearly US$4 billion for a wealth pot of US$19.2 billion, despite taking a hit after brothers Thomas and Raymond Kwok, co-chairmen of the firm, were charged with graft.
Forbes said nearly two-thirds of the list's 50 members, which include six newcomers, built much of their fortune through property investment or development.
Overall, the top 50 – an expanded list from last year – were valued at a combined US$204.53 billion. The 40 richest men in 2012 were worth US$151.12 billion.
|
|
|
|
