Asia’s 20 Richest Families Control $495 Billion

Dhirubhai Ambani, the father of Mukesh and Anil, started building the precursor to Reliance Industries in 1957. When Dhirubhai died in 2002 without leaving a will, his widow brokered a settlement between her sons over control of the family fortune. Mukesh is now at the helm of the Mumbai-based conglomerate, which owns the world’s largest oil-refining complex and has been expanding into tech and retail. He lives in a 27-story mansion that’s been called the world’s most-expensive private residence.

Oei Wie Gwan purchased a cigarette brand in 1950 and renamed it Djarum. The business grew into one of the largest cigarette makers in Indonesia and, after Oei died in 1963, his sons Michael and Budi diversified by investing in Bank Central Asia. That stake now makes up most of the family’s fortune.

The Mistry family business was founded in India in 1865, when Pallonji Mistry’s grandfather started a construction enterprise with an Englishman. Shapoorji Pallonji Group now spans various business areas, including engineering and construction. The family also has shares in Tata Sons, the main holding company behind Tata Group, which controls Jaguar Land Rover. To sever ties to the group, Pallonji Mistry sought to swap his Tata Sons stake worth billions of dollars for shares in the conglomerate, but a judge ruled against it.

Kwok Tak-seng listed Sun Hung Kai Properties in 1972. The company has since become one of Hong Kong’s largest real estate developers and the basis of the Kwok family fortune. His sons, Walter, Thomas and Raymond, assumed control when he died in 1990.

Chia Ek Chor fled his typhoon-ravaged village in southern China and started a new life in Thailand, selling vegetable seeds with his brother in 1921. A century later, Chia’s son Dhanin Chearavanont is senior chairman of Charoen Pokphand Group, a conglomerate with food, retail and telecom units.

The Tsai brothers founded Cathay Life Insurance in 1962. In 1979, the family decided to split up the business, with Tsai Wan-lin and Tsai Wan-tsai taking control of Cathay Life Insurance and Cathay Insurance, respectively. Cathay Insurance was later renamed Fubon Insurance. The family now controls two large financial-holding companies in Taiwan and has diversified into sectors including real estate and telecom.

The Cheng family fortune started with Chow Tai Fook Jewellery, a Hong Kong-based jeweler. Its stock symbol is 1929, the year it was founded. The Chengs also control New World Development, one of the city’s biggest real estate and infrastructure companies.

Pao Yue-kong began his shipping business with HK$20,000 (now about $2,500) brought to Hong Kong from Shanghai more than half a decade ago. The company accumulated over 200 vessels by 1979, making it the world’s largest independently owned bulk-shipping fleet at that time. Adapting to market conditions, Pao diversified into real estate, using proceeds from ship sales. When Pao died in 1991, his businesses were divided among his four daughters and their families. A sizable portion of the current family wealth is derived from Hong Kong property developer Wheelock, which was taken private in 2020.

Lee Kum Sheung invented oyster sauce and founded Lee Kum Kee in 1888. When the original oyster sauce factory in Guangdong province burned down in 1902, the business was rebuilt in neighboring Macau, where it remained until it relocated to the more prosperous city of Hong Kong. Third-generation member Lee Man Tat consolidated his control of the company, buying out his uncles and brother. The family ventured into the health-supplements business in 1992 with LKK Health Products, a manufacturer and seller of herbal remedies. The family also owns substantial real estate assets, including the Walkie Talkie tower in London. Lee Man Tat died in 2021 at the age of 91, and his son Charlie is now chairman.

Chaleo Yoovidhya established T.C. Pharmaceutical in 1956 to sell medication. He later diversified into consumer goods, and in 1975 invented an energy drink he called Krating Daeng, Thai for “red bull.” After Austrian marketer Dietrich Mateschitz discovered the drink on a business trip, he teamed up with Chaleo to modify the recipe and market Red Bull globally. The fortunes of the Yoovidhya and Mateschitz families can be largely attributed to the success of Red Bull. When Chaleo died, his son Saravoot Yoovidhya became TCP Group’s chief executive officer.

Kwek Hong Png and his three brothers founded Hong Leong Co. in Singapore in 1941. His eldest son, Kwek Leng Beng, runs operations in the city-state that range from property development to hospitality and finance. Nephew Quek Leng Chan was sent to Malaysia to lead that part of the family business, which has become one of the country’s largest conglomerates.

Henry Sy was born in China and immigrated to the Philippines when he was 12. He helped his father sell rice, sardines and soap before he opened his first shoe store in 1958. From a tiny shop in downtown Manila, the business has grown into a conglomerate with interests including retail, banking and property. Today, the group runs thousands of retail stores and banking branches.

In the 1880s, Elly Kadoorie and his older brother Ellis arrived in Hong Kong to work for the Sassoons, a prominent family of the Baghdad Jewish diaspora. The brothers later set up a brokerage and amassed stakes in banking, real estate and power-generation facilities. Major investments include CLP Holdings, the electricity supplier to Kowloon and the New Territories, as well as Hongkong & Shanghai Hotels, the group that owns the Peninsula Hotel chain. Michael, Elly’s grandson, now chairs both businesses.

The Aditya Birla Group is one of India’s oldest family-owned businesses, with interests in industries including metals, cement, financial services, telecom and retail. It started as a cotton-trading company in the 19th century before Ghanshyam Das Birla, who financed Mahatma Gandhi’s fight for independence from British rule, created what has become one of the nation’s biggest aluminum makers. His great-grandson, Kumar Birla, is now the business’s chairman.

Lee Byung-chull started Samsung in 1938 as a trading company exporting fruits, vegetables and fish. He got into the electronics business by setting up Samsung Electronics in 1969, which has become the world’s largest maker of memory chips and smartphones. When he died in 1987, his third son, Lee Kun-hee, took over the business. He died in October 2020 after years of hospitalization following a heart attack in 2014. Jay Y. Lee, who cemented control over the conglomerate since, spent time in jail for bribery charges in a scandal that led to the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye in 2017. He was released on parole last year.

Suntory founder Shinjiro Torii opened his first store in 1899, selling wine and western-style liquors. Under the leadership of his son Keizo Saji, who took over as president in 1961, Suntory has become a multibillion-dollar conglomerate with interests ranging from alcoholic beverages to health foods. The founder’s grandson, Nobutada Saji, chairs the company now.

Juyung Chung, a farmer’s son, founded Hyundai in 1946 as an engineering and construction company. It has grown into a conglomerate that makes everything from cars to ships. He died in 2001, shortly after the group broke up following a battle for control between two of his six surviving sons. This resulted in the separation of Hyundai Motor, now headed by the founder’s grandson, Euisun Chung, who took over from his father as chairman.

Parmanand Hinduja, originally from Shikarpur, now in Pakistan, traveled to Mumbai to establish his business in trade and banking in 1914. Five years later, he opened an office in Tehran, where the group’s headquarters remained until 1979. Parmanand died in 1971, and his sons Gopichand and Srichand left for London eight years later while Prakash moved to Geneva and Ashok remained in Mumbai. The Hinduja Group currently has businesses in industries such as energy, automotive, finance and health care. The family owns real estate in India and in cities including London. It is involved in a dispute over a letter dividing their fortune.

Zhang Shiping started the predecessor of China Hongqiao in 1994. The veteran Communist Party member made full use of the market reforms ushered in by former leader Deng Xiaoping to turn his company into a major aluminum maker in China. After his passing, his son Zhang Bo became chairman of the aluminum business while his daughter Zhang Hongxia took charge of textile business Weiqiao.

Jamnalal Bajaj, known as Mahatma Gandhi’s adopted “fifth son,” founded the Bajaj Group in 1926. His son Kamalnayan began the precursor to Bajaj Auto and expanded into new businesses, including cement and electrical appliances. The company started manufacturing its own brand of scooters when Italy’s Piaggio didn’t renew Bajaj’s license in the 1970s. In 2008, Kamalnayan’s son Rahul split Bajaj Auto into three units to boost shareholder returns and give more management control to his heirs.