Li Ka-shing, the Billionaire of Real Estate
Li Ka-shing is one of the world's leading inspirational entrepreneurs, with a wealth of $28.4 billion, ranked first as the richest real estate billionaire and ranked as the richest billionaire in his home Hong Kong, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The 96-year-old Li Ka-shing is nicknamed "Super Man" because of his investment creativity and his transition from poverty to affluence. He was named this after predicting accurately in 2007 the explosion of the stock market bubble in China, and in early 2009 he predicted the beginning of Hong Kong's real estate price rise.
shing was born in Chao'an, Guangdong Province of China in 1928, but fled with his family to Hong Kong in 1940 as a refugee from the Sino-Japanese War. Because of his father's death from tuberculosis, he was forced to leave school at the age of 15 and found work at a plastics trading company, where he worked 16 hours a day to save his day.
He founded his own company Cheung Kong Industries in 1950, and from plastic manufacturing, he developed his company into a leading real estate investment company in Hong Kong.
Cheung Kong expanded through the acquisition of Hutchison Whampoa and Hongkong Electric Holdings in 1979 and 1985 respectively.
In 1958, Shing decided to buy the site and develop his factory building, and he had the opportunity to acquire more land after the 1967 riots, when many people fled Hong Kong, and as a result, property prices fell sharply, benefiting tremendously. Li Ka-shing officially named his real estate development company "Cheung Kong", and was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 1972.
Shing owns A.S. Watson, a chain of stores with more than 15 thousand stores in the UK, France and Hong Kong.
Li Ka-shing also has major investments in technology, with his investment firm Horizons Ventures dedicated to supporting new Internet and technology start-ups, buying a stake in Double Twist, while his other company Lee Cash Young Foundation acquired a 0.8% stake in Facebook for $120 million, and invested about $50 million in Spotify.
