Is Li Ka-shing a tech investment genius? The Hong Kong billionaire took early bets on Facebook, Siri, Zoom and more – now ‘Superman Li’ is reaping the rewards

Mar 15 , 2021

Hong Kong’s richest man, Li Ka Shing, has made billions from shrewd investments in the tech sector. Photo: @lksfoundation/Instagram

Li’s venture capital fund, Horizons Ventures, is run by Solina Chau and has invested in Spotify, Impossible Foods, Skype and Hong Kong fintech platform MioTech

Due to Covid-19, working from home and online meetings have become the norm, leading to the worth of Li’s Zoom stake soaring to US$11 billion

Hong Kong business magnate and billionaire Li Ka-shing’s net worth – according to Forbes – currently hovers around the US$34 billion mark. Previously chairman of CK Hutchison Holdings and CK Asset Holdings, “Superman Li”, as he is known in Hong Kong, stayed on as senior adviser after retiring in May 2018.

But it’s clear that taking a step back hasn’t meant stepping out of the game. Li’s penchant for tech investments has helped him maintain his title as Hong Kong’s richest man despite his empire straining under recent pandemic pressures.

His venture capital fund, Horizons Ventures, is ramping up its start-up investments in the hopes of replicating previous successes with the likes of Facebook, Waze and Skype. The VC is run by Li’s long-time friend, Solina Chau.

Here are eight of their most noteworthy tech investments:

Zoom Video Communications Inc.

Eric Yuan, founder of Zoom, and Li Ka-shing. Photo: SCMP

With Li owning 8.5 per cent of the California-based video conference tech company, his stake is now worth US$11 billion, making up a full third of his wealth.

Li invested in the company in 2013 and again in 2015. Since then, Zoom has seen significant growth as a result of Covid-19, thanks to social distancing measures and the closures of schools and offices. With the increased need for virtual meetings and classes, the US-listed company reported exponential sales growth in 2020’s second and third quarters, which led at one point to a US$3.2 billion boost to Li’s wealth in a single day.