China is threatening to smash the empires of Hong Kong’s real estate magnates — once so powerful they were seen as shadow governors of the Asian financial centre — and force them to fix the city’s housing woes.
Despite Beijing’s anger, the tycoons, who made their fortunes on Hong Kong’s rise to become one of the world’s most expensive real estate markets, are set to benefit once again as the government lays out new policies on affordable housing.
While Hong Kong’s property billionaires, such as nonagenarian Li Ka-shing of CK Asset Holdings, have been overtaken by those in China and India on the region’s rich lists, they remain among Asia’s wealthiest and most influential business leaders. The Kwoks of Sun Hung Kai are the region’s second-richest family, according to a 2020 Bloomberg survey. Others include the sons of another nonagenarian, Lee Shau-kee of Henderson Land, who is worth $31bn, and Adrian Cheng of New World Development, a third-generation scion of the late property and jewellery billionaire Cheng Yu-tung.