Samsung's Lees top Asia's richest families list

SINGAPORE — South Korea's Lee family, which controls the formidable Samsung conglomerate, topped an inaugural list of Asia's 50 richest families published Thursday by Forbes Asia magazine.

The family had a net worth of $26.6 billion as of late September, with second- and third-generation members now running more than 50 businesses, the magazine pointed out.

The Samsung empire, founded in 1938 by wealthy landowner's son Lee Byung-Chull, has diversified interests ranging from mobile phones to construction and shipbuilding.

Forbes Asia indicated that Samsung, the biggest of the "chaebol" or family-run conglomerates dominating South Korea's economy, accounted for 22 per cent of the country's gross domestic product in 2014.

"Nearly half of the richest families in Asia are of Chinese descent, yet none of the inaugural 50 is based in the mainland, where conglomerates are young, run by the first generation," it said in a report.

The second richest is the Hong Kong Chinese family, also surnamed Lee, which controls Henderson Development and boasts a fortune of $24.1 billion.

The third richest are the Ambanis of India's Reliance Group with a combined net worth of $21.5 billion, followed by Thailand's Chearavanont family with $19.9 billion, generated from the agriculture-based Charoen Pokphand group.

Rounding out the top five is the Kwok family, which controls Hong Kong's Sun Hung Kai property empire, with a combined net wealth of $19.5 billion.

Only families with business involvement extending to at least three generations were included in the survey, the magazine said.

The family of Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing, who has a current net worth of $25 billion based on a Forbes global list, was excluded because he has no grandchildren who have taken serious roles in the family business, it added.

The estimates of family fortunes were based on stock prices and exchange rates at the close of markets on September 25.

The top 10 richest families in Asia on the Forbes Asia list with their main businesses:

 1. Lee from South Korea (Samsung): $26.6 billion.
 2. Lee from Hong Kong (Henderson): $24.1 billion.
 3. Ambani from India (Reliance): $21.5 billion.
 4. Chearavanont from Thailand (Charoen Pokphand): $19.9 billion.
 5. Kwok from Hong Kong (Sun Hung Kai): $19.5 billion.
 6. Kwek/Quek from Singapore, Malaysia (Hong Leong): $18.9 billion.
 7. Premji from India (Wipro): $17 billion.
 8. Tsai from Taiwan (Cathay Financial): $15.1 billion.
 9. Hinduja from India, Britain (Hinduja Group): $15 billion.
10. Mistry from India (Shapoorji Pallonji Group): $14.9 billion. 

Last month, the mouthpiece newspaper of China's Communist Party has blasted Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing after he sold assets on the mainland with the world's second-largest economy facing headwinds.

The 87-year-old, nicknamed "Superman" for his sharp business acumen, has been offloading major property investments in China, where growth slowed to a 24-year low last year and has continued to weaken this year, after investing heavily there in the 1990s.

The move, combined with his selling of assets in Hong Kong, has fuelled speculation that the richest man in Asia is losing confidence in the Greater China region.

"Capital has no borders while businessmen have their own motherland," the People's Daily said on a verified social media account, implicitly questioning his patriotism.

China's opening up, vast market and favourable policies had been "the key cornerstone" of Li's success, yet he was now leaving his benefactor in the lurch, it said in a commentary Sunday on its account on China's mobile messaging application WeChat, a less formal platform than the printed newspaper itself.

"From the perspective of uncomplicated people, he shared the prosperity while we had good times but could not beat the odds together with us now that we have difficulties," it added. "This is indeed unacceptable emotionally." 

But it sought to downplay any "negative impact" on confidence in China, saying the mainland offers "a vision that goes beyond money".

"We don't need to worry that no investors will come after Li Ka-shing," it said, pointing out the country accounts for more than 12 per cent of the global economy.

"What we can do is not to condescend to persuade him to stay or to hurl invectives out of outrage, but to build the country better to make today's departure tomorrow's regret," it added.

Li, who is currently worth $32.9 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires index, started out in business as a plastic flower-maker.

He has been reshuffling his business empire since the start of this year and earlier this month announced the merger of his utilities firms, part of an overhaul seen as paving the way for him to hand over the reins to his eldest son Victor, 51, after he retires.

In one of his recent overseas purchases, Li in March acquired British telecom giant O2 from Spain's Telefonica for $15.2 billion.