Lui is chairman of K. Wah Group, the Hong Kong-based conglomerate founded by late father Lui Che Woo. It owns casino business Galaxy Entertainment and property developer K. Wah International. Galaxy Entertainment is one of six gaming license holders in Macau, the casino hub near Hong Kong.
The majority of the Lui family's wealth is derived from their 41% stake in Galaxy Entertainment, a Hong Kong-based company that operates casinos and resorts in Macau. The family also owns about 59% of K. Wah International, a property developer with businesses in Hong Kong, mainland China and Southeast Asia.
The stakes in Galaxy Entertainment and K. Wah International are held by family trusts and through holding companies owned by Francis Lui and his siblings, according to filings to the Hong Kong stock exchange. The fortune is credited to Francis Lui & family in this analysis to reflect Francis' position as chairman of K. Wah Group.
The value of the family's cash holding is based on an analysis of dividends, insider transactions, taxes and market performance.
The family also owns hospitality businesses composed of about 20 hotels in the US and Hong Kong, including their first hotel, InterContinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong.
Andy Hung, a spokesperson of K. Wah Group, didn't respond to a request for comment from Bloomberg News.
Born in 1955, Francis Lui is the eldest son of late Hong Kong tycoon Lui Che Woo who founded closely-held conglomerate K. Wah Group with businesses sprawling casinos, real estate and hospitality.
Lui Che Woo was born in 1929 and started to support his family by selling food on the streets during the World War II. In the 1950s, he bought surplus construction equipment from the US forces in Okinawa and imported to Hong Kong. He also started a quarrying business and founded K. Wah group at the age of 26.
Riding on the booming demand for properties in Hong Kong, the elder Lui turned to property development and invested in his first residential project in 1962. The first Hong Kong hotel in East Tsim Sha Tsui, now InterContinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong, was built by the K. Wah Group in 1979. In 2002, Lui's Galaxy Casino Co. won one of the three gaming concessions in Macau. Lui Che Woo passed away on Nov. 7, 2024 at the age of 95.
Francis Lui holds a bachelor's degree in civil engineering and a master's degree in structural engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. He joined the family business in 1979 and became an executive director a decade later.
He was appointed as the group's chairman after the passing of his father. At the time, his four other siblings -- Paddy, Eileen, Lawrence and Alexander -- were also working in different units under K. Wah Group.