Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing is still funding an empire from his (semi-)retirement.
Li Ka-shing, a multi-billionaire who once claimed the title of Asia’s wealthiest person, stepped down from his conglomerate in 2018. Credit: ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP via Getty Images
Li Ka-shing took plastic flowers and grew an empire. He established his manufacturing company, Cheung Kong, in 1950, at the age of 22. It made him, for a time, the richest man in Asia.There are now nine individuals from China and Hong Kong ahead of Li on the Bloomberg billionaires list. Sixty-eight years later, he stepped down from a conglomerate that has helped his fortune grow to about $32 billion, according to a Bloomberg index.
His fortune, like his conglomerate, is diversified. He
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