Sir Ka-shing Li, GBM, KBE, JP (born 29 July 1928 in Chaozhou, China) is a Hong Kong business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. According to Forbes, as of February 2017 Li is the richest person in Asia, and 18th richest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$31.3 billion. He is currently the chairman of the board for CK Hutchison Holdings; through it, he is the world’s leading port investor, developer, and operator, and the largest health and beauty retailer in Asia and Europe.
Li is one of the most influential entrepreneurs in Asia, presiding a business empire with diverse portfolio of businesses from a wide array of industries that include transportation, real estate, financial services, retail, energy and utilities. His conglomerate company Cheung Kong Holdings is influential in many sectors of the Hong Kong economy and makes up 4% of the aggregate market capitalisation of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Forbes Magazine and the Forbes family honoured Li Ka-shing with the first ever “Malcolm S. Forbes Lifetime Achievement Award” on 5 September 2006, in Singapore. In spite of his wealth, Li has cultivated a reputation for leading a frugal no-frills lifestyle, and is known to wear simple black dress shoes and an inexpensive Seiko wristwatch. He continues to live in the same house as he has for decades, which has now become one of the most expensive districts in Hong Kong, Deep Water Bay in Hong Kong Island. Li is also regarded as one of Asia’s most generous philanthropists, donating over US$2.56 billion to charity and other various philanthropic causes. Li is often referred to as “Superman” in Hong Kong because of his business prowess.
Li Ka-shing was born in Chaozhou in Guangdong province, China, in 1928 to Teochew parents. Due to his father’s death, he was forced to leave school before the age of 15 and found a job in a plastics trading company where he worked 16 hours a day. In 1950 he started his own company, Cheung Kong Industries. From manufacturing plastics, Li developed his company into a leading real estate investment company in Hong Kong that was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 1971. Cheung Kong expanded by acquiring Hutchison Whampoa and Hongkong Electric Holdings Limited in 1979 and 1985 respectively.
Li Ka-shing net worth: Li Ka-shing is a Hong Kong-born businessman who has a net worth of $31 billion. Li Ka-shing is the Chairman of Hutchison Whampoa Limited and Cheung Kong Holdings.His net worth makes Ka-shing the 13th richest person in the world and the richest person in China. Li Ka-shing began life as a refugee but now is a successful businessman who controls a number of different holdings across various business networks. He is also known for his generous donations to many philanthropic organizations. In addition to his net worth he is often referred to in China as “Superman,” a nickname he earned thanks to his impressive business prowess. Li is considered one of the most powerful men in Asia, having earned the title of “Asia’s Most Powerful Man” in Asiaweek magazine back in 2001. Despite his impressive amount of wealth and power, Li Ka-shing belongs to that subgroup of wealthy individuals who have cultivated simple lifestyles. He is often seen wearing cheap black dress shoes and a simple SEIKO watch, which might surprise people who know him as one of the richest men on the planet. He is also a very enthusiastic philanthropist, having donated $1.41 billion so far to various charitable causes and organizations. In his personal life, Li is known for his commitment to physical fitness, giving much of his time throughout the day to exercise. His favored form of exercise is golf, which he gets up at 6 AM every morning to play with famous Hong Kong movie producer Raymond Chow, regardless of how much (or how little) sleep he got the night before.
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