‘Four Heavenly Kings’ of Hong Kong – net worths, ranked: how much have Cantopop legends Andy Lau, Jacky Cheung, Leon Lai and Aaron Kwok raked in since their 90s heyday?
- Jacky Cheung’s Everyday is Christmas joined Mariah Carey’s classic anthem as one of the top 10 most downloaded festive songs in 2010 – and Earth, Wind & Fire covered it in 2014
- Andy Lau holds the Guinness World Record as the fastest person to reach 10 million followers on social media platform Douyin, TikTok’s China sibling
Since their debut, Andy Lau Tak-wah, Jacky Cheung Hok-yau, Leon Lai Ming and Aaron Kwok Fu-shing not only shook up the Cantonese entertainment industry, but also Cantonese speaking communities around the world, earning themselves the nickname of “Four Heavenly Kings” soon into their careers.
Besides dominating the Hong Kong music scene, these four artists were also seen in films, television shows and advertisements. While it has been quite a few years since their heydays back in the 90s, we can’t help but wonder which Heavenly King has the highest net worth and achieved the most since their careers catapulted into success. (All figures were sourced from Celebrity Net Worth.)
Andy Lau Tak-wah, 60
Net worth – US$70 million
First on the list is Andy Lau, who clocks in at being worth around US$70 million. Soon after joining TVB’s artist training programme in 1981, Lau’s lead role in 1982 drama The Emissary earned him his initial popularity. From then on, he went on to star in multiple lead roles in TVB series, which earned him a spot among the “five Tiger Generals of TVB” alongside other famed actors and singers in the television programme All-Star Challenge.
Despite Lau leaving TVB in 1985 because of contract issues, he continued his showbiz career as a singer. Although his initial album wasn’t a big hit, his perseverance allowed him to become one of Cantopop’s most successful artists. His hit album “Would It Be Possible” nabbed him his first Top 10 Gold Song Award from RTHK in 1990. After that, Lau had a streak of winning at least one RTHK award category each year until 2007, and now he holds the Guinness World Records for the most awards won by a Cantopop male artist.
Alongside his music career, Lau acted in films too. Because of his massive popularity all across Asia from playing Yeung Kuo in The Return of the Condor Heroes, he landed his breakout role in action comedy film On the Wrong Track in 1983. His acting career continued to thrive as he starred in iconic Hong Kong films like the Infernal Affairs series, Running on Karma and many more.
In 1991, Lau set up his own film production company, Teamwork Motion Pictures, which has pushed out award-winning films like Made in Hong Kong and his most recent action blockbusters, the Shock Wave series. While Hong Kong’s film market initially brought Lau to success, his career continues to flourish as he produces films in Mainland China.
