It may be a sign of the times that the fifty-something boss of a chain of budget restaurants has entered Hong Kong’s rich list just as Dr Stanley Ho, Macau’s former gaming monopolist, saw his net worth plummet by 89%.
Dr Ho dropped from fifth to 19th on ‘Hong Kong’s 40 Richest’ list, which is complied by FORBES magazine. His fortune fell from an estimated US$9 billion to US$1 billion, largely thanks to the battering given to the share price of his Macau casino operating business SJM. The company had the dubious distinction of achieving public status only weeks before the escalation of the global credit crisis.
In a public statement, Dr Ho made fun of the list’s claims, saying his casinos were “printing money” and that even if his gaming company’s stock was worth nothing, it would be “trivial in the extreme”. Doth he protest too much?
If it’s any comfort to him, Dr Ho is not the only one experiencing a bumpy ride in the current market turbulence. Hong Kong’s richest residents shed more than half of their combined wealth when compared to last year’s list, with the number of billionaires dropping from 40 to 19.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom. Michael Chan, chairman of budget Chinese food restaurant chain Cafe de Coral, made an appearance on the list for the first time. Mr Chan, 56, made it to number 35, with a fortune estimated at US$560 million. His company has 540 outlets under various brands spread across Macau and mainland China, as well as Hong Kong.
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