Billionaires
World’s Richest Real Estate Billionaires The world’s wealthiest individuals in real estate are predominantly self-made billionaires. Combined, the richest five control a $110.1 billion fortune. Net worths are as of November 10, 2021. Lee Shau Kee
Donald Bren
Net worth: $31.9 billion Region: Hong Kong
Net worth: $16.2 billion Region: U.S.
Shau Kee established property developer Sun Hung Kai with the late Hong Kong-based businessman Kwok TakSeng. In 1976, Shau Kee founded Henderson Land Development, which constitutes the bulk of his fortune. The self-made billionaire stepped down as chairman of Henderson Land in 2019 and appointed his sons, Martin and Peter, as co-chairmen. An advocate for education, the 93-year-old philanthropist has given away over $400 million so far.
Bren, America’s richest real estate baron, controls over 126 million square feet of real estate, mostly in Southern California through his company Irvine Co. The 89-year-old self-made billionaire’s empire consists of more than 560 office buildings and 125 apartment complexes. Bren owns a 97% stake in Manhattan’s MetLife Building. Since 2013, the Orange County realtor has donated at least $100 million to a Caltech project that aims to generate solar power in space and beam it back to Earth.
Wu Yajun
Yang Huiyan & family
Net worth: $15.4 billion Region: China
Net worth: $27.3 billion Region: China China’s richest woman, Huiyan’s fortune comes from her 57% stake in real estate developer Country Garden Holdings, which was transferred by her father Yeung Kwok Keung in 2007. She chairs Bright Scholar Education Holdings, a Chinese education company that went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 2007. The 40-year-old holds a degree from Ohio State University. Huiyan’s younger sister Ziyang also F O R B E S M I D D L E E A S T.C O M
China’s richest woman، Yang Huiyan
serves as a board member for Country Garden. The company placed 140th on the Forbes Global 2000 list of the world’s top publicly listed firms in 2021.
Peter Woo Net worth: $19.3 billion Region: Hong Kong Woo was a chairman of property developer Wheelock & Co. and its
primary subsidiary, Wharf Holdings, before stepping down in 2015. The 75-yearold’s son Douglas now serves as chairman and took the company private in 2020. Woo began his career in 1972 with Chase Manhattan Bank in New York, where he met his wife Bessie, daughter of the shipping tycoon Y.K. Pao. Three years later, he joined her family’s business in Hong Kong.
Yajun serves as the chairwoman of Hong Konglisted real estate developer Longfor Properties. She co-founded the firm with her ex-husband Cai Kui in 1993. The couple split in 2012, and Kui no longer has a role in Longfor. The 57-year-old self-made billionaire is an engineering graduate and worked as a journalist before entering the real estate business. The company placed 198th on the Forbes Global 2000 list of the world’s top publicly listed firms in 2021.
DECEMBER 2021
BY JAMILA GANDHI
LEADERBOARD
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