The Li family is the richest family in Hong Kong, with its patriarch Li Ka-Shing having an estimated net worth of US$29.4 billion, making him the 30th richest person in the world. He started Cheung Kong Plastics in 1950, which he later expanded to Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings, the present-day holding company for the family’s interests.
Before he retired in 2018, Li Ka-Shing had been grooming his youngest son, Victor Li, as the heir-apparent to his empire. Victor Li began working for the family business at a very young age. Just a year after graduating university in 1987, the young Li was charged with handling the Vancouver Expo 86 site for redevelopment and became Director of Husky Energy’s board.
In 2012, Ka-Shing handed over the reins of his business to Victor, giving him a controlling stake in an empire valued at US$25.5 billion. Victor was a critical part of the success of his father’s early investments in Facebook and Skype. Perhaps most famously, Li spearheaded a deal to purchase a 31 per cent stake in Air Canada, an effort to save the company from bankruptcy due to the SARS outbreak. The deal fell through when Li, unions and the airline could not reach an agreement.
