Li Ka-shing officially passes his business empire to eldest son

Li Ka-shing, the 90-year-old Hong Kong tycoon, officially stepped down as the chairman of Cheung Kong Holdings after appearing at the CK Hutchison and CK Asset annual general meetings. He is succeeded by his eldest son, Victor Li Tzar Kuoi, but will serve as a senior adviser, reports thepaper.cn.

Hong Kong's tycoon Li Ka-shing, chairman of CK Hutchison Holdings, speaks to reporters after the CK Hutchison annual general meeting in Hong Kong, China, on Thursday, May 10, 2018. [Photo: IC]

Li Ka-shing, who has been working for 78 years, is worth an estimated 36 billion U.S. dollars, up 19 percent from last year, according to the annual list of Hong Kong's richest people released by Forbes Magazine in January. He has held the position of Hong Kong's richest person for 20 years in a row.

CK Hutchison Holdings company co-managing director Victor Li, speaks during a press conference to announce the company's annual results in Hong Kong, Friday, March 16, 2018. [Photo: IC]

Li's four listed companies, CK Hutchison, CK Asset, CK Infrastructure, and Power Assets, have expanded globally in areas including real estate, ports, telecommunications, retail, energy, and infrastructure. Li's companies employ over 320,000 people in more than 50 countries.