The 10 Richest Asian Billionaires in The World

When most people hear the word 'billionaire,' their ears perk up. We often hear the word, 'millionaire' associated with movie stars and sports icons, and other celebrities, but billionaires are not as often in the main stream of the news or social media. That kind of money intrigues us and as an average person, it is hard to fathom what having that number of zeros would mean for you life. Although billionaires are farther and fewer between than millionaires, there are plenty of them around the world. Asia is known to have its share of billionaires and we know who some of these insanely rich people are. To learn more about Asia's wealthiest, keep reading, because here is a list of the 10 richest Asian billionaires in the world.

10. Raymond and Thomas Kwok: Net Worth - $18.3 billion

The Kwok's are regarded as two of the most influential people in the world when it comes to real estate. Thomas and Raymond Kwok went to different universities; Thomas received his Bachelor's of Science degree in civil engineering before he enrolled in the London Business School, University of London, which is where he completed his MBA. While he was working on his degree, Raymond was enrolled at Cambridge University, where he received his BS degree before finishing his MBA at Harvard. The brothers' real estate company is responsible for building some of the tallest, most extravagant buildings in Hong Kong's skyline. They are also two brothers that hit the news when one of the biggest scandals, and were arrested due to some bribery charges. Despite the scandal surrounding their name, they are said to have a net worth of $18.3 billion, putting them on the list for being a couple of the richest Asian billionaires.

9. Lee Kun-Hee: Net Worth- $18.4 billion

Lee Kun-Hee is a prominent South Korean business magnate that was born in 1942. He is currently the chairman of the Samsung Group, which his father founded. He took over as chairman of the company two weeks after his father passed away at the end of 1968, and remained chairman until he resigned in April of 2008, due to a scandal involving owing into a slush fund, but later returned as chairman in May of 2010. His company has built him a great deal of wealth, with an estimated net worth of $18.4 billion dollars.

8. Wang Wei: Net Worth- $20.6 billion

As of September 2017, Wang Wei is worth $20.6 billion and is one of the most successful and most respected businessmen in the world. He started his own parcel delivery service in 1993, S.F. Express, which is located in Shunde, a major port city in China. He used money he borrowed from his father to start the business and it all began with a one-day delivery service that ran from Hong Kong to Shenzhen. Over time, the business grew and expanded throughout all of Southern China, until he eventually added air cargo carriers and a delivery fleet that now services 13,000 service centers in over 50 different countries. His company went public on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in January of 2017, by way of a reverse merger with Maanshan Dingtai Rare Earth & New Material. He is one of the wealthiest Asian billionaires today.

7. Masayoshi Son: Net Worth- $22.6 billion

Born in 1957 in Japan, Masayoshi is of Korean decent. His family migrated from Korea to Japan and adopted the surname, Yasumoto, which Son used as a child. During his high school years, Son stayed with friends in San Francisco, CA until he graduated, then went on to complete two years at Holy Names University before transferring to Berkeley University, where he received his B.A. in economics, while also studying English and computer science; classes he decided on after having a one-on-one meeting at the age of 16 years old with the founder of Japan McDonald's, Den Fujita, who offered the advice. Today, Son is one of the wealthiest men in the world and is the founder of SoftBank, a mobile telecom and investment company. The company acquired one the U.S.'s leading mobile companies, Sprint Nextel, for $23 billion, in 2013. He is also a very dedicated philanthropist, and has pledged to donate 10 billion yen, which is the equivalent of $120 million USD, plus his remaining salary until he retires, all to help support the victims of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. He currently has a net worth of $22.6 billion, making him one of the richest billionaires in Asia.

6. Lee Shau-Kee: Net Worth- $27.4 billion

Lee Shau Kee is a real estate magnate who is base in Hong Kong, China. He was born in 1929 and today, he sits on the list as one of the richest billionaires in Asia. He is the majority owner of a real estate development company, Henderson Land Development, which is a property conglomerate that holds interests in internet services, restaurants, and hotels. He has also accumulated a great deal of his wealth through holdings of Mainland-controlled stocks. He has earned a few nicknames due to the profits he has accumulated with his controlled stocks, including, "Hong Kong's Buffet." Shau-Kee is known as one of the rare, fourth-born children in the world, which has earned him another nickname, "Uncle Four." Shau-Kee's net worth is $27.4 billion, making him a very wealthy billionaire in Asia.

5. Wang Jianlin: Net Worth-$30 billion

Wang Jianlin is listed with Forbes as one of the richest people in the world, and has predominantly found himself on billionaires listings for years. Jianlin was born in October of 1954. He is a prominent businessman, investor and philanthropist and is the founder of the largest real estate development company in China, the Dalian Wanda Group. Not only that, but he is the operator of the world's largest movie theater. Other dealings he has is being the a 20% owner of the Spanish Football Club known as, Atletico Madrid. His name is also behind the China Cup, as he was in agreement with FIFA to launch the competition, and now the event is hosted in Asia annually, for all the National football teams. Jianlin has long been on the list for one of the wealthiest people and has a net worth of $30 billionaire.

4. Hui Ka Yan: Net Worth- $30.7 billion

Hui Ka Yan is a real estate developer and chairs the Evergrande Real Estate Group. He was born in 1958 in Henan Province in China. In 1982, he graduated from Wuhan University of Science and Technology, holding a degree in metallurgy. He has spent the past approximate 26 years in real estate and has earned his net worth by his property development deals, as well as corporate management. Current projects of Hui Ka Yan's, include, Evergreen Oasis Wuhai in arid Inner Mongolia. He is also in-charge of the Evergreen Spring City Enping project, in Guangdong. He has chaired one of the largest property development companies since 1966 and is one of the richest billionaires in Asia, with a net worth of $30.7 billion.

3. Li Ka-Shing - $34.4 billion

Li La-Shing was born in Chaozhou, China, in 1928. His beginning years were humble, being raised as the child of a teacher and a refugee, Today, however, he sits at the top of the financial world as a prominent businessman, investor, and philanthropist. Li Ka-Shing is currently the Chairman of the board for CK Hutchison Holdings. Ka-Shing's business dealings have spanned through a wide variety of areas over the years, including, transportation, real estate, developer, plastics, retail, construction, cellular phones, satellite TV, and energy and utilities. He got his start in the plastics business, working 16 hours a day for a plastics company before the age of 15. At the age of 22, he founded his own plastics manufacturing company and from there, his legacy began. Today, Ka-Shing is worth $34.4 billion, and he is considered one of the richest billionaires in Asia.

2. Ma Huateng: Net Worth- $36.5 billion

Ma Huateng is an internet entrepreneur and is the founder, CEO, and president of Tencent, one of the largest internet companies in China. Not ta whole lot is known about Huateng, as he lives a pretty secretive lifestyle. We do know that his father was part of the communist party in China and he is referred to as his nickname, Pony, which is an English derivative of his family name, which means "Horse." Huateng received a BS in computer science in 1993, and since developing his company, it now controls the largest mobile instant messaging service, as well as the company's subsidiaries provide entertainment, media, internet and mobile phone value-added services. He is regarded as one of the most influential people in the world and he is currently worth $36.5 billion.

1. Jack Ma: Net Worth - $38.3 billion

Jack Ma is Chinese born and is the co-founder and chair of Alibaba Group, one of the largest e-commerce businesses in the world. Ma did not own and a computer until the age of 33 and had only started getting introduced to the internet in 1995. After applying for 30 jobs and not getting one, he decided to learn the internet and became intrigued with what he learned. He set up his first business of creating websites for companies with his wife and a friend and soon after, headed up an information technology company from 1998-1999. He then quit the company and started up his own company, Alibaba Group, a holding company with nine subsidiaries, and has grown it until he is now worth $3.3 billion. He is regarded as one of the most powerful people.

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