Forbes: Li Ka-shing reclaims position as HK's richest

Forbes today (Feb. 25) released the list of Hong Kong's Richest 2021. Li Ka-shing, with a 20% jump in his fortune to US$35.4 billion (around HK$276.12 billion), reclaimed the top position as the city's richest.

Despite a drop of 27% in the share price of Li's property developer CK Asset Holdings, his overall fortune grew substantially, owing to his stake in the U.S.-listed video-conference provider Zoom, whose share price rocketed in 2020 under the pandemic.

Property tycoon Lee Shau Kee, who surpassed Li last year, slipped to second place as his wealth remained relatively unchanged at US$30.5 billion (around HK$237.9 billion).

Henry Cheng Kar-shun, Chairman of Chow Tai Fook Jewellery and New World Development ranked third with US$22.1 billion (about HK$172.38 billion).

Forbes added that although HK's economy contracted 6.1% last year, the stock market stayed robust, driving the wealth of HK's top 50 billionaires to grow by 7.5%.

The World's Billionaires is an annual ranking by documented net worth of the wealthiest billionaires in the world, compiled and published in March annually by the American business magazine Forbes. The list was first published in March 1987.

Full list available here.