Ho family remains strong in HK richest 50, despite gaming woes

Angela Leong

Forbes’s latest rankings of Hong Kong’s 50 richest individuals once again heavily features Macau- and Hong Kong-based casino tycoons, with the Ho family retaining multiple entries despite last year’s gaming slump.
Notably absent from the list was Stanley Ho, who began to dissolve his gaming empire in 2010. The family was represented on the top 50 list by Pansy Ho, Lawrence Ho and lawmaker Angela Leong, who tallied in at 19th, 41st and 44th place, respectively, with a combined worth of USD6.67 billion. All three fell in the rankings this year, according to Forbes’ assessment.

Lawrence Ho

Pansy Ho

Lui Che Woo, who owns Galaxy Entertainment Group, was also down in this year’s rankings, due to the recent gaming avails in Macau. Despite presiding over the opening of the revamped Broadway Macau, the Jiangmen-born entrepreneur placed seventh this year, down from being named Hong Kong’s second-richest man in 2014.
But it was Cheng Yu-tung, a longtime gaming investor in Macau, who came third in this year’s ranking. The 90-year-
old, who owns the holding companies “New World Development” and “Chow Tai Fook Jewelry Group,” has a net worth of USD15 billion.
As was the case last year, property and infrastructure tycoon Li Ka-shing has been contending for first place with Lee Shau Kee, the real-estate, hotel and energy empire mogul.
Asia’s richest man, Lee Shau Kee, now ranks second with a net worth of USD23.9 billion. His billionaire rival, Li Ka-
shing, takes the top spot with a worth of USD31.3 billion.

Li’s own fortunes suffered last year when anti-corruption officials in Beijing questioned his loyalty to the mainland after significant investments abroad. Meanwhile, his son Richard Li moved up the list to sit at 15th place this year. He owns ING’s life insurance business in Macau, Hong Kong and Thailand, with an individual net worth of USD4.7 billion.
Other notable mentions in the top 50 include real estate and toymaker magnate Francis Choi (11) and 80-year-old banking head Ko Fook Kau (23), the latter of whom started his fortune in Macau after his father opened pawnshops and began investing in casinos.
Cui Lijie – longtime property investor in China and a jewelry collector, who secured 75 percent of what is now Imperial Pacific International Holdings in 2013 – made the list for the first time in 2016.
The company is linked to a Macau junket promoter known as Hengsheng Group. Despite setbacks for the junket sector last year, Cui places 35th on the list with a net worth of USD1.9 billion.
Seventy-two-year-old casino tycoon Albert Yeung, known for his links to Cantonese pop stars and Hong Kong movie stars, came in at 46th place with USD1.25 billion. According to Forbes, the self-made billionaire says he always carries HKD40,000–50,000 to “ward off feelings of inferiority.” Staff reporter