Published January 18, 2008
Li Ka-shing tops new HK rich list
Forbes ranks the 79-year-old No. 1 with his US$32b fortune
(HONG KONG) Li Ka-shing rang up 42 per cent more riches last year,
making him worth US$32 billion and crowning him king among tycoons
in Hong Kong, which boasts more than 40 billionaires, said Forbes
magazine yesterday.
Soaring property prices and unparalleled ties to China's white-hot
economy boosted the wealth of many of the city's richest residents,
according to Forbes' inaugural rich list for the Asian financial
centre.
The city boasts one of the world's highest concentrations of luxury
cars from Rolls-Royces to Porsches.
Last year was a stellar one for Mr Li, 79, who heads conglomerates
Cheung Kong Holdings and Hutchison Whampoa and has cemented a
reputation as a peerless deal-maker, having unloaded a stake in
Indian mobile phone carrier Hutchison Essar to Vodafone for a tidy
US$11 billion.
Last year, Forbes also ranked Mr Li ninth richest worldwide. His
son, Richard, came in 24th in Hong Kong with US$1.52 billion. The
Li influence runs so deep it's hard to spend a day in the city
without enriching the family, which runs property, power and phone
firms and supermarkets.
In second place are the Kwok brothers - Raymond, Thomas and Walter
- who run Hong Kong's biggest property developer, Sun Hung Kai.
They notched up a US$10 billion gain last year, giving them a
combined fortune of US$24 billion.
Known as Asia's Warren Buffett, Mr Lee Shau-kee edged into third
place after savvy picks of rising Chinese stocks and climbing oil
prices netted him US$6.5 billion, taking his tally to US$23
billion.
A notch lower on the list was New World Development head Cheng
Yu-tung with US$9.4 billion.
Gambling magnate Stanley Ho came in fifth with US$9 billion -
clinging to the upper echelons despite famed Las Vegas operators
Sheldon Adelson and Steve Wynn muscling in on his home turf of
Macau - the only place in China where gambling is legal.
Forbes said the 40 richest people in Hong Kong were all
billionaires. -- Reuters
