The billionaire list is thriving as far as the recently released Forbes’ rich list is concerned, with the count standing at 1,826 for the 29th edition. This has seen 290 billionaires added from the previous year with those from the real estate and tech industries dominating the list.
While Donald Trump may be the most famous face amongst the real estate mogul crowd, he is certainty not the richest with his $4 billion not even breaking the top 20.
Here we’ll take look at the 10 wealthiest real estate tycoons in the world with an estimated 150 billion between them.
10. Pan Sutong
Net worth: $8.6 billion
Nationality: Hong Kong
Pan Sutong made the wealth of his fortune from his stake in Goldin Financial Holdings, which has interests in real estate, wine and factoring. Beginning his career trading with electronic brands such as Panasonic, Sutong went on to found Matsunichi Digital Holdings Limited which is now known as real estate giant Goldin Properties Holdings Limited. An avid wine lover, Sutong has purchased a number of wineries across France and in the famous Napa Valley region.
9. Robert & Philip Ng
Net worth: $9.6 billion
Nationality: Singapore
Coming from a real estate dynasty, their father Ng Teng Feng developed more than 700 hotels and malls across Asia. They went on to make a vast amount of their wealth in the Singapore and Hong Kong real estate markets, however their Sino Group empire lost almost $1 billion due to the poor property market a few years ago. After significantly investing in Australia, the brothers have once again returned to Singapore recently investing over $300 million in hotel development.
8. Joseph Lau
Net worth: $10.9 billion
Nationality: Hong Kong
Joseph Lau is a Hong Kong real estate investor who owns a 61% stake in Chinese Estate Holdings, one of Hong Kong’s largest real estate investors. Another wine lover, it is estimated that Lau owns more than 10,000 bottles of red wine as well as a Boeing 787 private jet, and a multi-million art collection. Lau did run into some trouble in 2012 after he was sentenced to 5 years in a Macau prison for bribery, however seeing as Hong Kong doesn’t share an extradition treaty he never saw any jail time.
7. Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor
Net worth: $12.6 billion
Nationality: United Kingdom
Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor is not only a landowner, businessman and former Territorial Army Officer, but is also the 6th Duke of Westminster, with a net worth significantly greater than Queen Elizabeth. Heading private property group, Grosvenor Group, he owns hundreds of thousands of acres across the UK, alone owning 190 acres in one of London’s most expensive neighbourhoods, Belgravia, adjacent to Buckingham Palace.
6. David & Simon Reuben
Net worth: $13.7 billion
Nationality: United Kingdom
Starting their careers by heavily investing in the Russian metals market, the Reubens became the world’s third largest producer of aluminium. When the Russian business environment turned sour, they sold all Russian assets and have since focussed most of their business activities around the UK property market. They recently completed the purchase of Metro International from Goldman Sachs in 2014 and a data centre business, GlobalSwitch, buoyed by demand for cloud computing space.
5. Cheng Yu-Tung
Net worth: $14.4 billion
Nationality: Hong Kong
Cheng Yu-tung owns Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, a conglomerate which operates the Sheraton Marina Hotel and controls the publicly listed New World group. Among their businesses, Chow Tai Fook is Asia’s largest jewellery retailer with New World having large interests in real estate.
4. Donald Bren
Net worth: $15.2 billion
Nationality: United States
US billionaire Donald Bren is Chairman and owner of real estate investment firm the Irvine Company. His company owns 500 office properties, more than 40 shopping centres, 50,000 apartments, three hotels and several golf clubs and marinas. Residing in Newport Beach, California, Bren is notoriously private even named by OC Weekly as “one of the least public billionaires”.
3. Thomas & Raymond Kwok
Net worth: $15.9 billion
Nationality: Hong Kong
With Thomas found guilty of bribery late last year, Raymond is now the sole chairman of the publicly traded group and real estate developer Sun Hung Kai Properties. The company specialises in premium-quality residential and commercial projects for sale and investment, recently profiting HK$75,100 million in FY13/14.
2. Wang Jianlin
Net worth: $24.2 billion
Nationality: China
Chinese businessman and philanthropist Wang Jianlin currently serves as the Chairman of the Dalian Wanda Group, China’s largest real estate developer, and the world’s largest operator of movie theatres. His company owns more than 9 million square metres of investment property, 85 Wanda Shopping Plazas, 51 Luxury hotels, 86 cinemas, 75 department stores, and 45 karaoke centres around China. Jianlin has served more than 17 years with the People’s Liberation Army, eventually joining the the Communist Party of China and serving as the deputy to the 17th National Congress.
1. Lee Shau Kee
Net worth: $24.8 billion
Nationality: Hong Kong
Lee Shau Kee or “Hong Kong’s Warren Buffett” is the majority owner of Henderson Land Development, a property conglomerate with interests in properties, hotels, restaurants and internet services. He has been and still continues to be involved in numerous companies, including chairman positions on Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited, Miramar Hotel and Investment, and also serving as the vice-chairman and non-executive director of the Kwok brothers’ Sun Hung Kai Properties board.
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