LEE SHAU-KEE: The 66-year-old native of Shun Tak County, Guangdong, is worth $50.7 billion. He is chairman of Henderson Land Development and Hong Kong and China Gas, vice chairman of Sun Hung Kai Properties and a director of Miramar Hotel & Investment, Hong Kong Ferry (Holdings), Bank of East Asia, Sun Hung Kai & Co. Mr Lee is also vice president of the Real Estate Developers Association of Hong Kong and a Beijing-appointed Hong Kong Affairs Adviser to China.
THE KWOK BROTHERS: Walter Ping-sheung, aged 44, Thomas Ping-kwong, 43, and Raymond Ping-luen, 41, have a combined wealth of $49.42 billion. They are chairman and joint vice-chairman, respectively, of the Sun Hung Kai Properties Group. Walter is also a member of the Hong Kong Governor's Business Council and a Beijing-appointed Hong Kong Affairs Adviser to China.
Background: The family fortune was built by father Kwok Tak-seng, one of Lee Shau-kee's oldest allies, who died aged 79 in 1990, leaving his billions and business interests to his three English-educated sons.
Kwok Tak-seng was a quiet, shrewd man, born into a family from Guangzhou. His entry into the world of commerce came with the setting up of a grocery firm before the war. His business, built on trade between Guangzhou and Shanghai, thrived with competitors crowning him the ''king wholesaler of foreign groceries''.
He came to Hong Kong after the Sino-Japanese war in 1946 and opened a grocery story under the name of Hung Cheong (Hop Kee) Co name. His first foray into real estate came with his participation in Eternal Enterprises. In 1963, he founded Sun Hung Kai with his two business partners Lee Shau-kee and the late Fung King-hey.
He claimed the secret of his success was that he made good use of every minute and never stopped learning - a virtue inherited by his three sons. The second-generation managers lack nothing for modern training. Walter holds an MSc from London University, Thomas an MSc from the London Business School, and Raymond went to Cambridge and holds an MBA from Harvard.
LI KA-SHING: The 63-year-old chairman of Hutchison Whampoa and Cheung Kong Holdings is worth $45.24 billion. He is a Beijing-appointed Hong Kong Affairs Adviser to Beijing, sits on China's Preliminary Working Committee and is a member of the Hong Kong Governor's Business Council.