Silas K. F. Chou (; born September 1946) is a Hong Kong-based

billionaire A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least 1,000,000,000, one billion units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. It is a sub-category of the concept of the ultr ...

business magnate, active in the fashion sector.

Early life

Chou's father was Chao Kuang-piu. His father founded South Ocean Knitters, one of the Hong Kong's "largest knitwear manufacturers and exporters", in which he still owns a stake. In 1978, Chou and his father founded Xiang Zhou Woollen Mills in the Zhuhai Special Economy District. His sister,

Susana Chou Susana Chou Vaz da Luz (born 2 December 1941), also known as Chou Kei Jan and Cao Qizhen, is a Macau politician who served as the president of the Legislative Assembly of Macau from 1999 to 2009. Biography Chou's ancestral hometown is the cur ...

, was the President of the Legislative Assembly of Macau from 1999 to 2009.

Career

In 1989, Chou and

Lawrence Stroll Lawrence Sheldon Strulović (born 11 July 1959), commonly known as Lawrence Stroll, is a Canadian businessman who is part-owner and executive chairman of Aston Martin, as well as the owner of their Formula One team. According to ''Forbes'', he ...

founded Sportswear Holdings to acquire

Tommy Hilfiger Thomas Jacob Hilfiger ( ; born March 24, 1951) is an American fashion designer and the founder of Tommy Hilfiger (company), Tommy Hilfiger Corporation. After starting his career by co-founding a chain of jeans/fashion stores called People's P ...

. Chou was the largest shareholder and became chairman of the company. In 2006, he sold his shareholding to Apax, a UK private equity firm for US$1.6 billion. In 2003, Chou and Stroll bought a majority share in

Michael Kors Michael David Kors (born Karl Anderson Jr. August 9, 1959) is an American fashion designer. He is the chief creative officer of his brand, Michael Kors, which sells men's and women's ready-to-wear, accessories, watches, jewelry, footwear, and f ...

for US$100 million. In June 2018, Chou sold the last of his investment in Kors. Chou has also heavily invested in

Karl Lagerfeld Karl Otto Lagerfeld also called Kaiser Karl (; 10 September 1933 – 19 February 2019) was a German fashion designer, photographer, and creative director. Lagerfeld began his career in fashion in the 1950s, working for several top fashion hous ...

and

Pepe Jeans Pepe Jeans London is a denim and casual wear jeans brand established in the Portobello Road area of London in 1973, and now based in Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Spain. it is currently owned by M1 Group, a holding company in Beirut, Lebanon. C ...

. In 2018, a consortium led by Stroll, which included Chou, acquired the assets of the Force India Formula One team after it entered administration, subsequently forming a new team under the name

Racing Point Force India Racing Point Force India Formula One Team was the title under which Racing Point UK made a late entry into the 2018 Formula One World Championship. The team used the constructor name "Force India", competed under a List of Formula One construct ...

Personal life

Chou is married, with two daughters, Veronica and Vivian, and lives in Hong Kong. Both daughters are active in his fashion business.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chou, Silas Living people Hong Kong billionaires 1946 births Chou family Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania people Hong Kong business executives