6. Real Estate Developer
South China Morning PostCase Study: Lee Shau-Kee
Country of Citizenship: Hong Kong
Net Worth: $24.4 billion (£19.6 billion)
A career in real estate is no doubt a safe route to wealth. Just ask Lee Shau-Kee, the founder of Henderson Land Development, who has been dubbed ‘one of Hong Kong’s richest landlords’. Lee grew up in a poor family that could only afford to eat meat or fish twice a month but by 1997 (and prior to the handover of Hong Kong to China) was the fourth richest person in the world.