Li Ka-shing retires and passes his business empire to elder son

Li Ka-shing, president of Cheung Kong Holdings, announced his retirement at a press conference on Friday. He will be succeeded by his elder son Victor Li, who has been elected as a member of the standing committee of China's top political advisory body, the CPPCC.

Li, who is the richest man in Hong Kong and one of the most influential tycoons in Asia, started his business in 1950 when he was 22 years old. Over the past 68 years, he expanded his business across the world, and has interests in real estate, communications, infrastructure construction, oil, AI, and retail.

Hong Kong's richest man Li Ka-shing (R), 89, and his son Victor attend a press conference in Hong Kong on March 16, 2018. [Photo: VCG/Anthony Wallace]

Business Empire

Li Ka-shing began his career in Hong Kong as a salesman before starting a plastics company, Cheung Kong, manufacturing plastic flowers. He had anticipated that plastics would become a booming industry – and he was right.

As the firm prospered, Li began to acquire property with the belief that rents would continue to rise. This real estate development company, Cheung Kong, soon made him Hong Kong's leading private developer.

Since late 1970s, Li expanded his business overseas. The company purchased Hutchison Whampoa in the UK and Husky Oil in Canada, and set up mobile phone operations in Australia, Europe, and the United States.

In the 21st century, Li started investing newly-emerged industries, including communication software company Skype, social media company Facebook, Apple's intelligent personal assistant Siri, wearable devices, and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles.

Li Ka Shing's net worth is $35.4 billion as of today, according to forbes.com. Before the announcement, Li was the chairman of CK Property Holdings and CK Hutchison Holdings. His companies employ some 310,000 people in more than 50 countries.

Li Ka-shing speaks at a ceremony for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on Guangdong Technion Israel Institute of Technology on September 29, 2013, in Tel Aviv, Israel. Li Ka Shing Foundation donated $130 million to Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, with some of the money going towards funding the Guangdong campus. [File photo: China Plus/Zhang Jin]

As philanthropist

Li has also gained public attention for his philanthropy. He established the Li Ka Shing Foundation in 1980 along with other charitable organizations, which have contributed millions of dollars in donations to universities and hospitals in East Asia and North America.

He also pledged his support for rescue efforts after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the Sichuan earthquake of 2008, and the Nepal earthquake in 2015.

Legacy Inheritance

In the statement announcing his retirement, Li Ka Shing said that his elder son Victor Li will succeed him as president of Cheung Kong Holdings.

Victor Li joined the CK Group in 1985 and became executive director of CK Hutchison Holdings Limited after three years. The 53-year-old was deputy chairman of CK Hutchison and CK Assets before the announcement that he would take over his father's role as president of Cheung Kong Holdings.

Victor Li was recently elected as a member of the 13th standing committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's top political advisory body. He is also a member of the Commission on the Strategic Development of Hong Kong