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EDMONDSO/SCMP/GETTYIMAGESMIXED BAG
The city’s richest held their own in a challenging year.
mid prolonged protests and the U.S.-Chi-
na trade war that hit Hong Kong over the
past year, the fortunes of the city’s 50 rich-
est yielded a mixed bag: 24 listees added
to their wealth; 22 saw their net worth
decline. While Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng stock
index was almost flat since we last measured fortunes in
February 2019, the combined net worth of the top 50 rose
7% to $308 billion.
Li Ka-shing, who held the No. 1 spot since the list’s in-
ception 12 years ago, was surpassed this year by Lee Shau
Kee, founder of property giant Henderson Land. Lee’s net
worth of $30.4 billion makes him the new No. 1 but with
only a slim lead of $1 billion. Given market fluctuations,
Li could at any time reclaim his prime position in the real-
time Billionaires ranking on Forbes.com.
Most of the overall gain can be attributed to Hong
Kong’s third-largest fortune, owned by the late property
tycoon Cheng Yu-tung’s family and represented by his son
Henry Cheng. Thanks to a better understanding of their
inherited fortune, the listing now includes the family’s col-
lective wealth of $20.7 billion. Their most valuable assets
are stakes in Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group and prop-
erty firm New World Development, where the patriarch’sA
grandson, Adrian Cheng is making his mark.
Among the biggest gainers was husband and wife duo
Yeung Kin-man and Lam Wai Ying of glass maker Biel
Crystal. After shedding more than half their fortune in
2019, their wealth rose 70% to $8 billion, helping lift the
pair nine spots to No. 10. Biel Crystal, which supplies to
smartphone makers such as Apple, Huawei and Samsung,
benefited from roaring demand for its 3D glass casings for
5G devices.
Among others who added to their totals was Wong Man
Li, whose net worth climbed 65% as shares in his furni-
ture maker Man Wah soared on strong mainland sales and
a shift in production to Vietnam. Horst Julius Pudwill of
Techtronic Industries was up 45%, to $3.7 billion, on rising
sales of his company’s power tools.
One new entrant made the list this year: Zhuo Jun, who
previously appeared in the annual billionaires ranking,
debuted at No. 46 after shares in her Shenzhen Kinwong
Electronic, a maker of printed circuit boards, jumped on
news of the firm’s capacity expansion in anticipation of the
global 5G rollout.
Of the 22 listers whose net worths took a hit, 14 were
real estate moguls, including Fong Yun Wah of Hip Shing
Hong and Thomas Lau of Lifestyle International, best
known for its Sogo department stores. As commercial
property cooled and hotel occupancies fell, their wealth
declined 30% and 24% respectively.
A notable drop-off was real-estate tycoon Lo Siu-tong,
who died in January; his estate has not yet been settled. The
cutoff to make the list dropped slightly from $1.27 billion
to $1.2 billion.With reporting by: Shu-Ching Jean Chen, Muhammad Cohen,
Russell Flannery, Jane Ho, Joyce Huang, Sean Kilachand,
Suzanne Nam, Robert Olsen, Jessica Tan and Yue Wang.THE LIST HONG KONG’S 50 RICHEST
BY GRACE CHUNG AND NAAZNEEN KARMALIMETHODOLOGY
The list was compiled using information from the individuals, stock
exchanges, analysts, private databases, government agencies
and other sources. Net worths were based on stock prices and
exchange rates as of the close of markets on January 24—and real-
time net worths on Forbes.com may reflect different valuations.
Private companies were valued by using financial ratios and other
comparisons with similar companies that are publicly traded. The
estimates include a spouse’s wealth and, where the person is the
company founder, also include the wealth of sons and daughters
that is derived from that company.