Almost 20 percent of Asia’s 50 richest families are from Hong Kong, a new list by financial publication Forbes shows.
The nine Hong Kong families to make the 2017 list represent a combined net worth of US$142.7 billion (or HK$1.1 trillion).
They, however, didn’t make it to No. 1, which went to the Ambani family of India, the only country to have more families on the list than Hong Kong, with 17 in the top 50. In all fairness, given Hong Kong’s population of 7.3 million and India’s 1.3 billion, we should probably be feeling pretty good about ourselves.
The Ambani family, heads of the Reliance Group conglomerate, had a net worth pegged at US$44.8 billion (HK$349 billion), built on oil-and-gas, telecom and textile interests.
The highest-placed Hong Kong family was the Kwok clan, heads of Hong Kong-listed developer Sun Hung Kai Properties.
Despite the legal troubles of Sun Hung Kai co-chairman Thomas Kwok, the real estate tycoons placed third overall, with a net worth of US$40.4 billion (HK$315 billion).
Thomas Kwok was returned to prison in June this year after his final appeal against bribery charges was dismissed.
His brother Raymond, who was accused but cleared of the misconduct allegations, is now sole chairman of the company founded by family patriarch Kwok Tak-Seng in 1969.
The Kwok clan were one place behind South Korea’s Lee (Byung-Chull) family, heads of electronics giant Samsung, whose de facto head Jay Y. Lee — the grandson of the company’s founder — was also jailed for bribery offenses this year.
The next highest on the list for Hong Kong was the Lee (Shau Kee) family, heads of real estate company Henderson Development, with an estimated net worth of US$29 billion (HK$226 billion) placing them at number six.
They were followed by the Cheng clan, heads of the family-controlled jeweler Chow Tai Fook (which recently bought one of the world’s most expensive diamonds) and conglomerate New World, who came in at number eight with a fortune of US$22.5 billion (HK$175 billion).
Then there was Pao, heads of the global maritime firm BW group, whose US$13.4 billion (HK$104 billion) net worth placed them at 21; the Kadoorie family, whose US$11 billion (HK$85 billion) fortune mostly stems from Hong Kong electricity supplier CLP Holdings and saw them ranked 23rd; and the Lee Man Tat family, who came in at number 30 with US$8.4 billion (HK$65 billion), thanks to their sauce and condiment company Lee Kum Kee.
The final three Hong Kong families in the top 50 were textile traders and hotel developers the Law family — placed 31st with a net worth of US$7.8 billion (HK$61 billion); followed by the Tung brothers — shipping magnates ranked 49th with a net worth of US$5.2 billion (HK$40 billion); and developers the Lo family — sneaking in. at number 50, with a US$5 billion (HK$39 billion) fortune.
Reader Interactions