| Times are tough even for Hong Kong's wealthiest, with Forbes Global's
latest list of the world's richest people showing that some have seen their
worth drop by more than half in the past four years.
The drop in the net worth of Hong Kong's richest follows a global trend,
which saw the total estimate of the world's richest people on the list slip
from US$1.73 trillion (HK$13.49 trillion) to US$1.54 trillion, according to
the magazine, which published its 2002 list last night.
Cheung Kong (Holdings) chairman Li
Ka-shing, who also controls Hutchison Whampoa, saw his US$12.6 billion
estimated worth last year shrink to US$10 billion. Li has been the SAR's
richest man since 1999.
The weak property market, still struggling to rebound since 1998, is said
to have affected a lot of developers, including Cheung Kong.
But Li's diversified regional businesses, including telecommunications,
port development and retail sales, have enabled him to remain at the top of
the list, not just in Hong Kong, but in the whole of Asia.
His son Richard Li, who controls Pacific Century CyberWorks (PCCW) and
its Cyberport division, has seen his wealth slip from US$4.3 billion in 2000
to US$1.6 billion.
Richard Li, once dubbed ``whiz kid'', shot to fame after selling Star TV,
which he founded in 1991, for US$825 million to Rupert Murdoch in 1993. But
his takeover of Hong Kong Telecom from Cable & Wireless for US$28.5
billion in 2000, and moves to refinance debts to pay back the HKT purchase
loan appears to have taken its toll.
The stock price of PCCW-HKT has plummeted from more than $26 a share to
below $2 since the purchase.
Henderson Land head Lee Shau-kee saw his wealth dip from US$12.7 billion
in 1998 to US$5.2 billion.
Chinachem chairman Nina Wang's estimated worth of US$6 billion in 1998
dwindled to US$2.4 billion; New World's Cheng Yu-tung's US$6 billion in 1998
was reduced to US$2 billion, according to Forbes.
Americans still dominated the 2002 list, with Microsoft's Bill Gates
heading it on US$52.8 billion. His wealth shrunk from its peak of US$90
billion in 1999.
With the exception of China and South Korea, virtually every Asian
economy suffered in the past year, the magazine said.
China's richest man is ``feed king'' Liu Yongxing, whose family,
including brother Liu Yonghao, built up its fortune from a starting capital
of 1,000 yuan (HK$942) over the past two decades. The fortune now stands at
US$1 billion.
Rong Yiren & family was last year's China's wealthiest at US$1.3
billion. Rong's son, Larry Yung, is chairman of Hong Kong-based conglomerate
Citic Pacific, a 28-per cent-owned subsidiary of state-owned China
International Trust and Investment Corp.
There are 497 billionaires from 43 countries in the Forbes list.
The US leads with 243 billionaires, down from 272 last year. -
by Michael Wong iMail 1 March 2002
The ranking of the world's richest people as estimated by Forbes
magazine, listed by country. Listings include rank, name, age where known,
wealth in billions of dollars and source of the money. A number of
billionaires share the same rank because Forbes reported their wealth as
being identical with each other. All figures are in U.S. dollars.
HONG KONG
23. Li Ka-shing,
73, $10.0, diversified (global conglomerate)
24. Kwok, Walter,
Thomas and Raymond, $9.2, real estatestate
51. Lee Shau Kee, 74, $5.2, real estate
118. Kadoorie, Michael and family, 61, $3.1, diversified
168. Wang,
Nina, $2.4, real estate
168. Wang, Patrick, 51, $2.4, micromotors
208. Cheng Yu-tung, 76, $2.0, real estate
277. Li,
Richard, 35, $1.6, telecom
293. Chen Din Hwa, 79, $1.5, real estate
413. Ho,
Stanley, 80, $1.1, gaming
445. Fok, Henry, 78, $1.0, gaming
445. Woo, Peter and family, 56, $1.0, real estate
TAIWAN
68. Tsai Wan-lin and family, 77, $4.6, insurance
112. Wang, Y.C., 85, $3.3, chemicals
157. Gou, Terry, $2.5, technology
208. Koo Chen-fu and family, 85, $2.0, banking
258. Lam, Barry, 52, $1.7, laptops
SINGAPORE
118. Ng Teng Fong and family, 73, $3.1, real estate
138. Lee Seng Wee and family, 77, $2.9, banking
151. Khoo
Teck Puat, 85, $2.7, banking
208. Kwek Leng Beng and family, 61, $2.0, hotels
378. Wee Cho Yaw,
73, $1.2, banking
INDONESIA
234. Halim, Rachman and family, 54, $1.8, tobacco
MALAYSIA
84. Kuok, Robert, 79, $4.1, agriculture
208. Lim Goh Tong, 84, $2.0, gaming
258. Quek Leng Chan and family, 61, $1.7, banking
351. Krishnan, Ananda, 63, $1.3, telecom
445. Yeoh Tiong Lay and family, 72, $1.0, construction
THAILAND
351. Chearavanont, Dhanin and family, 62, $1.3, agriculture
445. Thaksin Shinawatra and family, 52, $1.0, telecom
PHILIPPINES
258. Tan, Lucio, 67, $1.7, tobacco
293. Sy, Henry and family, 77, $1.5, malls
413. Ty, George and family, 69, $1.1, banking
445. Zobel de Ayala, Jaime A and family, 42, $1.0, diversified
JAPAN
29. Saji, Nobutada and family, 56, $8.6, beverages
51. Takei, Yasuo and family, 72, $5.2, consumer finance
97. Kinoshita, Kyosuke and family, 61, $3.8, consumer finance
105. Iwasaki, Fukuzo, 77, $3.5, real estate
106. Mori, Akira, 65, $3.4, real estate
118. Itoyama, Eitaro, 59, $3.1, golf courses
138. Fukuda, Yoshitaka and family, 54, $2.9, consumer finance
138. Ito, Masatoshi, 77, $2.9, retail
157. Tsutsumi, Yoshiaki, 67, $2.5, real estate
180. Yamauchi, Hiroshi, 74, $2.3, Nintendo
234. Busujima, Kunio, 62, $1.8, gaming
234. Jinnai, Ryoichi, 75, $1.8, consumer finance
277. Funai, Tetsuro, 75, $1.6, VCRs
277. Idemitsu, Shosuke, 74, $1.6, oil
277. Takizaki, Takemitsu, 56, $1.6, sensors
277. Yoshida, Tadahiro, 55, $1.6, zippers
293. Morita, Hideo and family, 50, $1.5, Sony
293. Son,
Masayoshi, 44, $1.5, Softbank
327. Okada, Kazuo, 59, $1.4, gaming
351. Mabuchi, Kenichi and family, 69, $1.3, micromotors
378. Fujita, Den and family, 76, $1.2, McDonald's Japan
413. Ogihara, Ikuo, 47, $1.1, pharmaceuticals
445. Fukutake, Soichiro and family, 56, $1.0, education
445. Otsuka, Akihiko and family, 64, $1.0, pharmaceuticals
445. Yanai, Tadashi, 53, $1.0, retail
SOUTH KOREA
157. Lee Kun Hee and family, 60, $2.5, Samsung
225. Shin Kyuk-ho, 79, $1.9, candy
- Associated Press 2002
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