Hong Kong Real Estate Billionaire Lee Shau Kee, Once Asia’s Richest Person, Dies At 97

Forbes

Lee Shau Kee was among the first generation of entrepreneurs in Hong Kong who started making a fortune from property development between the 60s and 70s.  Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/zinnialee/2025/03/17/hong-kong-real-estate-billionaire-lee-shau-kee-once-asias-richest-person-dies-at-97/  Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00Today on Forbes, Hong Kong real estate billionaire Li Shaoqi, once Asia's richest person, dies

00:07at 97.

00:10Li Shaoqi, the self-made billionaire who built one of Hong Kong's largest property empires,

00:15died on Monday, March 17.

00:18He was 97 years old.

00:20Li's company, Henderson Land Development, announced he passed away peacefully, surrounded

00:25by his family.

00:27Li founded Henderson Land in 1976 and was the chairman until 2019, when he handed the

00:32reins to his sons Peter and Martin, making them co-chairmen.

00:37At the time of his death, Li was the second wealthiest person in Hong Kong, with a net

00:42worth of $30 billion, according to Forbes' real-time billionaires list.

00:47Li was among the first generation of entrepreneurs in Hong Kong who started making a fortune

00:52from property development between the 60s and 70s when the city was facing a shortage

00:56of affordable housing.

00:59During the period, Li co-founded Sun Hung Kai Properties with Fung King Hay and Kwok

01:04Tak Seng, the father of Hong Kong's billionaire Kwok brothers.

01:09Li later went out on his own to establish Henderson Land.

01:12Both Sun Hung Kai and Henderson Land became major players in Hong Kong's real estate market.

01:19Li's own property venture was known for building mass residential homes and amassing land banks.

01:25Henderson Land led the development of Hong Kong's northern reclaimed town of Sha Tin

01:29in the 1970s, which grew into the city's most populated district with roughly 700,000 residents.

01:36The company today is the largest owner of undeveloped rural land in Hong Kong's northern

01:40New Territories region, with a reserve spanning about 45 million square feet.

01:47Henderson Land also helped shape Hong Kong's skyline, developing the iconic International

01:51Finance Centre, or IFC, in the central business district in a joint venture that includes

01:57Sun Hung Kai.

01:59Henderson Land's portfolio also comprises the city's most expensive commercial land,

02:03which Henderson Land acquired for $6.5 billion in 2021 to develop new office and retail complexes

02:11right next to the IFC.

02:13The record-breaking bid came less than five years after Henderson Land paid $3 billion

02:18for a site of a former multi-storey car park on Murray Road in Central.

02:23The developer has since turned it into a landmark Grade A office tower, named The Henderson,

02:29which opened last year, with tenants including auction house Christie's and private equity

02:33giant Carlyle.

02:36In 1981, Li took Henderson Land public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

02:41Over the years, he grew Henderson Land into an empire that also controls other listed

02:45companies in Hong Kong, including one of the city's largest gas suppliers, Hong Kong

02:50and China Gas, also known as Town Gas, as well as hospitality group Miramar Hotel & Investment

02:57and ferry service operator Hong Kong Ferry Holdings.

03:01The success of Henderson Land catapulted Li to become Asia's richest person in 1996,

03:06with a net worth Forbes estimated at $12.7 billion.

03:11That year, he was also named the world's fourth wealthiest person, ranking only after

03:16Microsoft's Bill Gates, Berkshire Hathaway's Warren Buffett, and Roche's Paul Sacher.

03:22In 1997, when Li topped the Asia wealth rankings again, he shared how he had amassed his wealth

03:28in an interview for his biography.

03:30He said, quote,

03:31"...wealth is accumulated through diligence and frugality.

03:35People say big wealth comes from heaven.

03:37It doesn't mean leaving things to heaven.

03:40It means wealth will come only when the time, place, and opportunity are favorable.

03:44It is not something that can be forced."

03:48Besides running Henderson Land, Li also devoted his time to philanthropy.

03:53One of his proudest projects was leading the Hong Kong Pei Hua Education Foundation, which

03:57he co-established in 1982.

04:00Over the years, the charity organization provided education and training programs, which it

04:05said had benefited nearly 1.3 million people in mainland China.

04:09Li, through his Li-Shao-Ki Foundation, also gifted more than 1 billion Hong Kong dollars

04:15— about 128 million U.S. dollars and 600 million yuan, or 83 million U.S. dollars — to

04:23universities in Hong Kong and mainland China, respectively.

04:28For full coverage, check out Xenia Li's piece on Forbes.com

04:33This is Ciarán Meadows from Forbes.

04:36Thanks for tuning in.

Category

Transcript

Recommended