The most elite group–the 20 wealthiest of the real estate moguls–include a whopping 14 people who hail from Asian-Pacific nations. Seven are from Hong Kong, four from China, two from Singapore, and one from Australia. Only six of the richest real estate 20 are Westerners: three each from the U.S. and the U.K.
Cheng Yu-tung
Forbes Billionaire Rank: 54
Net Worth: $16.2 billion
Citizenship: Hong Kong
Cheng Yu-tung has long been one of Hong Kong's richest men. He's ailing -- he's reported to have had a stroke in 2012 and is no longer active in his varied companies. He turned over the chairmanship of his New World Development to his elder son, Henry, 66, in March 2012. Third-generation members Sonia Cheng and Adrian Cheng hold large responsibilities now.
Wang Jianlin
Forbes Billionaire Rank: 64
Net Worth: $15.1 billion
Citizenship Country: China
The richest man on mainland China, Wang Jianlin, owns 75 department stores, 85 shopping plazas and 51 five star hotels. After buying U.S. movie chain AMC in 2012, Wang listed it on the New York Stock Exchange in December.He flew in celebrities Leonardo DiCaprio and John Travolta to help launch an $8 billion mini-Hollywood in the coastal city of Qingdao in September 2013. Wang, born in Sichuan Province in 1954 just after the Communist revolution, spent the first few decades of his life in anything but luxury. In 1970, Wang entered the military, where he remained until 1986 when he took a city government job in Dalian in Liaoning Province. Wang, born in Sichuan Province in 1954 just after the Communist revolution, spent the first few decades of his life in anything but luxury. In 1970, Wang entered the military, where he remained until 1986 when he took a city government job in Dalian in Liaoning Province. Wang became chairman of Wanda, which was government-run, in 1989 at age 35.
Donald Bren
Forbes Billionaire Rank: 69
Net Worth: $14.4 billion
Citizenship Country: United States
Donald Bren is the wealthiest real estate developer in the U.S. and continues to get richer thanks to the rising tide of property values. His Irvine Co. holds a vast portfolio of commercial and residential properties--including about 50,000 apartments, 40 million square feet of office space, and 8 million square feet of retail in Orange County, San Diego, Los Angeles, and Silicon Valley, plus three golf clubs and five marinas. It also owns the Hyatt Center and is an investor in the UBS Tower, both in Chicago. Bren attended the University of Washington on a skiing scholarship. He joined the Marines, then built his first house with a $10,000 loan in 1958. With partners in 1977, he bought Irvine Co.--founded in 1864--for $337 million and became the firm's sole shareholder in 1996. Bren has endowed 87 chairs and contributed millions of dollars to California's universities, including the University of California at Irvine's law school and its School of Information and Computer Sciences, which bears his name, as well as at Santa Barbara where he helped establish the Donald Bren School of Environmental Science and Management. He preserved half of the original 93,000-acre Irvine Ranch as permanent open space.
Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor
Forbes Billionaire Rank: 81
Net Worth: $ 13 billion
Citizenship Country: United Kingdom
The U.K.'s richest landlord, Gerald Grosvenor continues to benefit from the steadily improving real estate market for central London. Known formally as the 6th Duke of Westminster, he owns 190 acres in Belgravia, an area adjacent to Buckingham Palace and one of London's most expensive neighborhoods. His family also has 96,000 acres in Scotland, 32,000 acres in Spain and thousands elsewhere in England. Altogether, the private Grosvenor Group owns real estate on five continents and reports just under $20 billion in assets under management. In 2013 his son, Earl, became one of seven godparents to the new royal baby, Prince George. His daughter, Edwina, works on prison reform.
Thomas & Raymond Kwok
Forbes Billionaire Rank: 86
Net Worth: $12.6 billion
Citizenship: Hong Kong
The Kwoks saw a big drop in wealth after the family resolved their differences and eldest brother Walter received an equal entitlement to shares of Sun Hung Kai Properties. He now runs his own business. SHKP's stock price is down more than 20% in the past year, while the Hang Seng Index has been flat. The company controls one of the largest property portfolios in Greater China, having built many of the iconic buildings that define Hong Kong's skyline. Co-chairman Thomas, 62, and Raymond, 61, are facing charges of bribery and conspiring to commit misconduct in public office. The trial is due to begin on May 8.
David & Simon Reuben
Forbes Billionaire Rank:95
Net Worth: $11.5 billion
Citizenship Country: United Kingdom
Real estate mogul brothers benefited from the best year in London real estate since 2006; asking prices in the U.K. capital increased 10.6% last year as supply failed to keep up with demand. The brothers continue to expand their data center business, GlobalSwitch, in Hong Kong, Sydney and Amsterdam. The company's strong balance sheet allowed it to pay the pair a special $1 billion dividend in December. The brothers were raised in the U.K. Simon started out importing carpets and buying real estate; David in metals trading. They later joined together in Transworld, a metals trader that invested in Russia and Kazakhstan in the 1990s. Since selling their metals business, the pair have built their fortune in property, pubs and natural resources. Their Reuben Foundation funds health care and educational causes. David resides in Monaco and Florida; Simon in Monaco.
Robert & Phillip Ng
Forbes Billionaire Rank: 106
Net Worth: $11 billion
Citizenship Country: Singapore
Brothers Robert and Philip Ng inherited a property empire from their late father Ng Teng Fong who developed more than 700 hotels, malls and condos in Singapore and Hong Kong. Private real estate holdings through family's Far East Organization are valued at more than $6 billion. In an Australian expansion, the brothers bought Sydney landmark, the Clocktower Square, for $64 million in October and Perth's Harbour Town Center, a shopping complex, for $183 million through their Singapore-listed Far East Hospitality Trust. In November, they paid $6.2 million for an Australian heritage retreat on Scotland Island in New South Wales that is accessible only by boat. Largest part of their public fortune is in Tsim Sha Tsui Properties, chaired by eldest sibling, Robert, in Hong Kong. Philip oversees the Singapor interests.
Joseph Lau
Forbes Billionaire Rank: 158
Net Worth: $8.4 billion
Citizenship: Hong Kong
Joseph Lau's shares of his Chinese Estates, one of the city's largest real estate investors, have nearly doubled in a year amid hopes that he won't be found guilty of bribery charges in Macau. Son Lau Ming-wai, a member of the bar in the U.S. state of New York, is company vice chairman. Dad holds 75% of the company. Graduated from the University of Windsor in Canada.
Peter Woo
Forbes Billionaire Rank: 186
Net Worth: $7.2 billion
Citizenship: Hong Kong
Peter Woo's wealth fell over the past year as the stock price of his main commercial real estate flagship, Wharf, suffered amid a weak rental market in Hong Kong. Wharf runs Hong Kong shopping malls Times Square and Harbor City. In November he handed over leadership in holding company Wheelock & Co. to his son, Douglas. He also owns 6% of Chinese real estate developer Longfor.
Yang Huiyan
Forbes Billionaire Rank: 196
Net Worth: $6.9 billion
Citizenship Country: China
Publicity-shy Yang took over her father's stake in Country Garden before the company's IPO in 2007, and today ranks as China's richest woman. Strong residential property sales have lifted Country Garden's sales and shares in the past year. The company in February announced plans to enter the Australian market by buying a development site in Sydney for $65 million. Yang, who herself is Country Garden's vice chairman, is joined on the board by fellow family members Yang Ziyang (sister), Yang Zhicheng (cousin), Yang Yongchao (cousin) and the company's true force, chairman Yeung Kwok Keung (father). Yang holds a degree from Ohio State University.
Charles Cadogan
Forbes Billionaire Rank: 196?
Net Worth: $6.9 billion?
Citizenship Country: United Kingdom?
A continued improvement in London real estate boosted Charles Cadogan's fortune again in 2013. In fact, his Cadogan Estates' reported valuation hit a record high at nearly $6.7 billion (£4 billion). Cadogan Estates, his family's 300-year-old property portfolio, is known for its redevelopment of Sloane Street, a popular shopping destination in London named after an ancestor, with a new piazza of high-end shops. Formally known as the 8th Earl Cadogan, he turned over the everyday duties of running the company to his son Edward, Viscount Chelsea, in 2012. The Cadogan clan's 90-acre estate stretches across the capital's most desirable neighborhoods of Chelsea and Knightsbridge. He began his career at merchant banker Schroder Wagg.
Richard Lefrak
Forbes Billionaire Rank: 227
Net Worth: $6.1 billion
Citizenship Country: United States
Richard LeFrak and family are one of the New York metro area's biggest landlords, with dozens of properties in New York and New Jersey. They also own properties in California and Washington state. Notable holdings include the 5,000-unit apartment complex LeFrak City in Queens and more than 16 million square feet of commercial, residential and retail properties in Newport, N.J. across the Hudson River from lower Manhattan (including the future home of FORBES Media). The company has spent $100 million renovating the luxury Gansevoort hotel in Miami's South Beach, rebranded as 1 Hotel South Beach and slated to open this year. The family also has a stake in oil wells; affiliates of the firm have also invested in wind energy generation. Richard's grandfather, Harry, began developing properties in 1901; his father, Sam, expanded the company's operations. Now sons Harrison and James are both involved. A trustee of the American Museum of Natural History, Richard LeFrak donated $10 million in 2012 to provide free museum visits for New York City schoolchildren.
Chan Laiwa
Forbes Billionaire Rank: 234
Net Worth: $6 billion
Citizenship Country: China
Chan chairs the Fu Wah International Group, one of Beijing's largest landlords. She invests in luxury hotels, clubhouses, apartments and office buildings. Properties include Regent Beijing, Legendale Hotel Beijing, Park Plaza Beijing Wangfujing, Jinbao Tower, the Hong Kong Jockey Club Beijing Clubhouse, and the Chang?An Club. Chan is curator of the China Sandalwood Museum in Beijing, which she also owns, and a lifetime member of the Beijing Manchu Association. Chan also serves as a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, a state body. Son Chiu Yung is Fu Wah group president.
Hui Ka Yan
Forbes Billionaire Rank: 244
Net Worth: $5.7 billion
Citizenship Country: China
Hui Ka Yan chairs Evergrande Real Estate Group of Guangzhou, one of China's largest real estate developers. Hui has five major areas of business: residential property, commercial property, hotels, tourist complexes, sports and cultural businesses. He targeted growth in the financial industry by purchasing a 4.5% stake in Huaxia Bank of Beijing. Hui's Guangzhou Evergrande Football Club in 2013 won the AFC Champion League Title for the first time. Hui graduated from Wuhan University of Science and Technology in 1982 and was awarded an honorary doctorate degree in commerce by the University of West Alabama in 2008.
Hui Wing Mau
Forbes Billionaire Rank: 244
Net Worth: $5.7 billion
Citizenship: Hong Kong
Hui founded and chairs Shimao Property Holdings, one of China's largest real estate developers. Hui's wealth has climbed from a year ago on brisk sales growth nationwide. Shimao Property's 64%-owned subsidiary Shanghai Shimao, which trades at the Shanghai Stock Exchange, develops commercial real estate and is lead by Hui's daughter Carol. Son Jason is the vice chairman at Shimao Property and heir apparent there. Hui, through Shanghai Shimao, made a push into the financial services industry in January with word that it would purchase a 7.7% stake in Shenyin & Wanguo Securities, one of the country's largest securities companies. Shanghai Shimao in a statement said the development prospects for China's capital markets were ‘enormous.’
Stephen Ross
Forbes Billionaire Rank: 263
Net Worth: $5.4 billion
Citizenship Country: United States
Developer Stephen Ross, chairman of Related Cos., broke ground on his $20 billion megaproject, Hudson Yards, an entire neighborhood on Manhattan's West Side in 2012. Earlier this year Time Warner signed on as an anchor tenant in the tallest building; Coach, L'Oreal, and SAP are anchors in second tower. Meanwhile, Related is nearing completion of Hunter's Point South in Queens, the largest affordable housing complex built in New York City since the 1970s. Through a Related Cos. platform that has raised more than $3 billion, he and his team have been acquiring distressed property. Also expanding Related Cos. internationally, has launched developments in Brazil, with plans to invest $1 billion over the next several years; partnering with Gulf Capital on two mixed-use developments on Abu Dhabi's Al Maryah Island, including the recently opened Galleria. Ross is leading an effort to put the management of Baltimore-based real estate investment trust Corvex up for a vote, and to install fellow Forbes 400 member Sam Zell as chairman. He also owns 95% of the Miami Dolphins--but may have wished he didn't when an ugly locker room bullying scandal turned into national news in 2013. Last year he pledged an additional $200 million to alma mater University of Michigan (bringing total to $313 million) and joined the Giving Pledge.
Kwee
Forbes Billionaire Rank: 270
Net Worth: $5.2 billion
Citizenship Country: Singapore
The four Kwee brothers Kwee Liong Keng, Kwee Liong Tek, Kwee Liong Seen and Kwee Liong Phing, Singapore's first family of luxury real estate, made a splash last October with their first big investment in the US. Their privately-held Pontiac Land teamed up with Goldman Sachs and Houston developer Hines, to revive a stalled project to build a 72-story Manhattan luxury residential tower next door to the Museum of Modern Art that will also include gallery space for MoMa. The Kwees are investing $200 million and have secured loans of $860 million from a consortium of Asian banks for the $1.3 billion development designed by award-winning French architect Jean Novel. Pontiac is known for its portfolio of posh hotels in Singapore such as The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia, Capella, Conrad Centennial, Regent and the soon to be openedThe Patina, Capital Singapore as well as iconic office high rises such as Millenia Tower and Centennial Tower. The company was founded by their Indonesian father Henry Kwee, a textile trader and real estate developer who migrated to Singapore in 1958.
Harry Triguboff
Forbes Billionaire Rank: 281
Net Worth: $5 billion
Citizenship Country: Australia
Harry Triguboff built his first apartment block in the Sydney suburb of Gladesville in the early 1960s. Now his Meriton is Australia's biggest apartment builder, mostly in Sydney, and is riding a new apartment-investment boom. Company spent $400 million in 2013 on land that will yield up to 5,000 apartments in coming years. Scotched rumors that he was planning to retire and sell his business. Born in China to Russian parents and came to Australia as a teenager. He began his working life in the textile business, making his move into property in the early 1960s. He was one of the first Australian developers to see the potential of apartment living at a time when most of his countrymen aspired to a single-family home in suburbia. In 50 years he has put up more than 55,000 apartments, earning him the nickname "High Rise Harry." These days Chinese are among the most enthusiastic buyers of his developments in Sydney and Brisbane. He established a center in Israel that focuses on immigrants and Judaism.
Walter Kwok
Forbes Billionaire Rank: 281?
Net Worth: $5 billion?
Citizenship: Hong Kong?
Walter was chairman of Sun Hung Kai Properties for 18 years, but a falling out with his brothers, Thomas and Raymond, led to his ouster in 2008. Two years later, his mother had him removed as a beneficiary of the family trust that owned the shares in SHKP, the second biggest property developer in Hong Kong. In late January this year, that all changed with SHKP's announcement that an amicable agreement between family members had been reached, giving all three brothers equal shares. For the past six years, Walter has been running his own business. He made a successful joint bid with Lai Sun Development for a site in Tseung Kwan O for HK$2.83 billion ($363 million) in late 2012. Meanwhile both his brothers will be in court beginning May 8 to face charges of conspiring to bribe a former government official.
Source: www.forbes.com
