Cheng Yu-tung GBM (; 8 August 1925 – 29 September 2016) was a

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

billionaire with extensive property investment, development and service businesses, hotels, infrastructure, jewellery retailing and transportation interests in Hong Kong,

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

, United States, Australia and other areas. He was considered to be Hong Kong's third richest man at the time of his death.

Early life

Cheng was born in rural Shunde District in

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020 ...

, the son of a tailor, and fled to

in 1940, ahead of the advancing Japanese occupation force. The goldsmith owner of the Chow Tai Fook store there took him on as an apprentice and he eventually married the boss's daughter. They moved to Hong Kong in 1946 and opened the company's first store there.

Business career

He founded and owned Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, a conglomerate which operates the Sheraton Marina hotel and controls the publicly listed property developer New World group, which Cheng founded in 1970. Cheng's wealth originated from his jewellery business, Chow Tai Fook. Cheng's grandson, Adrian Cheng Chi-kong, is set to inherit part of

Chow Tai Fook Chow Tai Fook group is a Hong Kong–based, privately-owned conglomerate with holdings in the jewellery, property development, hotel, department store, transportation, energy, telecommunications, port, casino, and other businesses. Despite the ...

and the Hong Kong-listed New World group, active in property and infrastructure. He also had interests in Shun Tak Holdings, and Macau casino operator Sociedade de Turismo e Diversoes de Macau, owned by Stanley Ho. In July 1972, Cheng and Ho bought the title to the Jumbo Floating Restaurant after it was burned down. The restaurant boat was rebuilt for HK$30 million and began operation in 1976. Cheng was a one-time real-estate investment partner of

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of ...

. Shortly before his death, Forbes listed him 58th wealthiest in the world and 3rd in Hong Kong with US$16.6 billion, and was at one time listed by Bloomberg as high as 34th.Hong Kong billionaire tycoon Cheng Yu-tung dies aged 91
Coconuts, 30 September 2016 Cheng also served on the board of

Hang Seng Bank Hang Seng Bank Limited () is a Hong Kong-based banking and financial services company with headquarters in Central, Hong Kong. It is one of Hong Kong's leading public companies in terms of market capitalisation and is part of the HSBC Group ...

, Hong Kong's third-largest bank. He represented the Kingdom of

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountai ...

in Hong Kong, serving as the honorary consul for the country.

Personal life

In 1943, Cheng married Chow Tsui-ying, the daughter of Chow Chi-yuen. In 1946, Cheng and his family moved to Hong Kong. Cheng had four children, Henry Cheng, Peter Cheng, Amy Cheng, and Lai-ha Cheng. Cheng's eldest son Henry Cheng (b.1946) is chairman of

New World Development New World Development Company Limited (NWD), is a Hong Kong-based company focused on property developer in Hong Kong, property, hotels, infrastructure and services and department stores. It was established on 29 May 1970 by Cheng Yu-tung. The ...

and related businesses.

Death

Cheng died on September 26, 2016, in Hong Kong, after a 2012 brain haemorrhage had left him bedridden.

References

External links