Uncle Four new No 1 among HK's richest

Avery Chen

Lee Shau-kee, founder of Henderson Land Development, has replaced Li Ka-shing as Hong Kong's richest person in the annual wealth ranking of Forbes magazine, with the fortunes of nearly half the city's billionaires falling amid the shrinking economy.

The net worth of Lee - also known as Uncle Four - climbed 1.33 percent to US$30.4 billion (HK$237.12 billion), US$1 billion more than Li's wealth, according to the 2020 Forbes Hong Kong Rich List.

It was not all good news for Lee.

His brother, Lee Siu-lun - founder of Siu On Realty - died on January 25 at 98, according to an obituary posted by his family yesterday.

Li, who topped the ranking every year since it was launched 12 years ago, saw his net worth fall 8.13 percent to US$29.4 billion, pushing him down to second place.

Lee, 92, stepped down as chairman of Henderson in May last year and was succeeded by his sons Peter Lee Ka-kit and Martin Lee Ka-shing.

Li, 91, retired in 2018, with his eldest son Victor Li Tzar-kuoi taking up his role as chairman of CK Asset and CK Hutchison.

The economy has been hit hard by the prolonged protests and the Sino-US trade tensions over the past year.

The Wuhan coronavirus outbreak is fueling more uncertainties, with 22 out of the city's 50 richest people seeing their net worth decline over the past year.

Shares of the two local property giants and their peers significantly underperformed the market in the past year.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index traded only 1.62 percent lower compared to a year ago.

Hong Kong's private home price rose 4.8 percent in 2019 but fell 4.6 percent since the anti-government protest started, the government's data showed.

Retail rent, meanwhile, is expected to continue to fall sharply in 2020 as the city's retail sales plunged 11.1 percent from a year earlier in 2019.

New World Development chairman Henry Cheng Kar-shun and his family were third in the Forbes annual wealth ranking, with an estimated net worth of US$20.7 billion.

Joseph Lau Luen-hung, the former chairman of Chinese Estates, and Lui Che-woo, who chairs Macau casino operator Galaxy Entertainment and property developer K Wah International, ranked fourth and fifth respectively.

One of the biggest gainers on the list were the husband and wife duo of Yeung Kin-man and Lam Wai-ying, who control glass maker Biel Crystal.

Their wealth rose 70 percent to US$8 billion to lift the pair nine spots to No 10.

avery.chen@singtaonewscorp.com