Who is Li Ka-shing?
Li Ka-shing is the Hong Kong businessman who built Cheung Kong into CK Hutchison Holdings and CK Asset Holdings, and Hong Kong’s richest person. Forbes valued him at $45.1 billion on its 2026 Hong Kong rich list, up from $38.9 billion a year earlier, and its real-time list ranked him 38th in the world on 20 October 2026 123.
How did Li Ka-shing make his money?
He started a plastics business in 1950 and turned it into a property and infrastructure empire. Cheung Kong Industries began with plastics, moved into real estate, and listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange in 1972. In 2015 he restructured the group into CK Hutchison Holdings, which holds ports, retail, infrastructure and telecoms, and CK Asset Holdings, which holds property. Bloomberg reported that he held about 30% of CK Hutchison and 38% of CK Asset 45.
Early life
Li was born on 29 July 1928 in Chaozhou, in China’s Guangdong province, to a school principal father, Li Yun-ching, and Cheung Bik-chin. His family fled to Hong Kong in 1940 as Japanese forces invaded, and his formal schooling stopped at high school 678.
Retirement and succession
He announced his retirement on 16 March 2018 and stepped down as chairman of CK Hutchison and CK Asset in May 2018. He stayed on as senior adviser. His elder son Victor became chairman of both, while his younger son Richard chairs the telecoms firm PCCW 179. Read Li Ka-shing’s companies.
Investments and philanthropy
He has invested personally in technology companies including Facebook, Spotify and Zoom, and the Li Ka Shing Foundation is his main philanthropic vehicle. Forbes named him among the most generous philanthropists outside the US in 2019 41011.
Li Ka-shing net worth
Forbes put him at $45.1 billion in 2026, about ₹4.2 lakh crore at ₹94 to the dollar, based on January prices. That is more than the $36.2 billion he held in 2024 212. See Li Ka-shing net worth and our ranking of the top 50 richest people in the world.