Joseph Lau
#208

Joseph Lau

Hong Kong 74 years old Self-Made

Overview

Source of Wealth
Real estate
Industry
Real Estate
Residence
Hong Kong
Marital Status
Divorced
Children
6

Assets

  • Chinese Estates (Holdings) Ltd.
    1,430,701,000 shares @ -
    -
    127-HK
  • Lifestyle International Holdings Ltd
    0 shares @ -
    -
    1212-HK

Biography

Joseph Lau is the former chairman of property developer Chinese Estates, most of which he acquired in 1986.

Lau owns a sizable portfolio of prime real estate in Hong Kong.

An avid art collector, his wealth also includes pieces from Warhol, Gauguin and Hockney that are worth at least $1 billion.

He became a billionaire in 2006 and his brother Thomas also made the billionaires' club.

In 2017 Joseph Lau said he transferred most of his wealth to his wife and a son, citing serious health issues.

About

Lau purchased a 12-carat blue diamond for a record-breaking $49 million in 2015.

Lau was sentenced to 5 years in prison by a Macau court for bribery and money laundering in 2014, but he can't be extradited to Macau and hasn't spent a day in jail.

Lau failed to take Chinese Estates private in 2021, when its investment in cash-strapped mainland property developer China Evergrande had $1 billion loss.