Who are the wealthiest people in Hong Kong? Check out this list

Billionaires Li Ka-shing, Lee Shau-kee as well as Henry Cheng are once  more the top three riches people in Hongkong, Forbes reported Wednesday.

In the published Forbes Hong Kong Richest list that disclosed Hongkong’s top 50 billionaires, 20 of the said wealthiest people made their fortunes
in property, another six in the manufacturing sector while four others in logistics. They now have a combined wealth of  $324 billion with a slight decrease from last year’s US$4 billion.

Li remained at the top of the rankings with a net worth of US$39 billion with a $3 billion increase from past year.

Even as the stock price of his main enterprise CK Hutchison Holdings has declined, this was partially offset by the increase in the value of his investment in Celsius Holdings – an energy drinks manufacturer, shortly after PepsiCo’s US$550 million investment in the company.

Despite a weak property market, 95-year-old real estate mogul Lee remained Hong Kong’s second richest despite an 11 percent decline  in net worth to US$30.3 billion.

Meanwhile, Henry Cheng, son of the late Cheng Yu-tung has retained the third spot since 2020, with his and his family’s wealth increasing by US$2.5 billion to a total of US$28.9 billion because of t he rising demand for gold jewelry eventually causing a surge in stock prices of Chow Tai Fook Jewelry Group by nearly 20 percent.

The five Lee siblings namely Charlie, Sammy, Eddy, David and Elizabeth – whose family became rich with the Lee Kum Kee brand, have accumulated a fortune of US$19.3 billion for the fourth spot.

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

Former chairman of property developer Wheelock Peter Woo, landed at the fifth spot with US$16.9 billion.

Next to him 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, to be the eighth richest.

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

The top 10 also includes 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.

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

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

Jean Salata had the biggest substantial surge in terms of percentage with his net worth doubling  to  net worth to US$5.9 billion after selling his Baring Private Equity Asia to Stockholm-based EQT in October.

Some were not as lucky. Founders of smartphone glass cover maker Biel Crystal, Yeung Kin-man and Lam Wai-ping, saw their riches decrease by half to US$4.4 billion as plunging global demand for smartphones made the company delay its IPO.

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

The top 10 richest in Hong Kong are as follows:

Li Ka-shing; US$39 billion

Lee Shau Kee; US$30.3 billion

Henry Cheng & Family; US$28.9 billion

Lee siblings; US$19.3 billion

Peter Woo; US$16.9 billion

Kwong Siu-hing; US$15.2 billion

Lui Che Woo; US$14.9 billion

Joseph Lau; US$13.2 billion

Joseph Tsai; US$8.5 billion

Francis Choi; US$8.2 billion