AsiaWeek's Power 50 Communicators: #13 Li Ka-Shing
A taciturn tycoon in public, Li Ka-shing doesn't need to say much. His $12-billion fortune fairly shouts his power and influence. You may avoid listening to him, but in Hong Kong especially, you can rarely avoid enriching him. The Cheung Kong chairman, 72, has stakes in property, telecommunications, retailing, media, investment banking, the Internet and infrastructure. He's a potent force in China, too, but Asia is just a platform for his many interests. The world is Li's stage.
There's only one cloud on the horizon: Li's younger son Richard. A famous Stanford non-graduate, the young Li made a hash of the Internet strategy of his Pacific Century CyberWorks, and now its cash cow Hongkong Telecom faces declining growth. Too bad Dad wasn't able to communicate to Richard his legendary talent for buying low and selling high.
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