Joseph Lau

Joseph Lau Luen-hung (born 21 July 1951) is a Hong Kong billionaire.

Lau is the former chairman of property developer Chinese Estates.

He is an avid art and wine collector.

His fortune is estimated by Forbes at $13.3 billion as of September 2021.

Joseph Lau was born on 19 July 1951 in Hong Kong.

He has a younger brother Thomas and two younger sisters.

Lau married Po Wing-kam (1954–2003) in 1977 and they were divorced in 1992.

Lau attended the University of Windsor in Canada before returning to join his family's business making electric fans in 1974.

In 1978, he renamed the company Evergo Industrial Enterprise.

They had two children: a son, Lau Ming-wai (born 1979 Dec) and daughter Jade Lau Sau-yung (born 1983).

In 1982, the company held an initial public offering in Hong Kong.

Lau owns the painting Everything Must Go (1984) by Jean-Michel Basquiat.

In 1985, Lau switched Evergo's business focus to investment-holding and property-management services.

Lau became the majority shareholder of Chinese Estates Holdings when he acquired a 43% stake in the company through Evergo in 1986.

Since then, he's expanded his real estate investments through a series of acquisitions.

In 2000, he acquired 67% stake in Chi Cheung Investment.

In 2006, Lau purchased Andy Warhol's Mao (1977), a portrait of Mao Zedong, for $17.4 million at Christie's.

In 2007, Lau purchased Paul Gauguin's Te Poipoi (The Morning) (1892), a painting of a Tahitian scene, for $39.2 million at a Sotheby's auction.

In May 2007, Lau was revealed to be among the first seven purchasers of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner jet for private use.

In 2008, Lau Ming-wai's wife gave birth to twins; they are Lau's eldest grandchildren.

Chinese Estates Holdings developed The ONE, the tallest retail complex in Hong Kong, which opened in 2010.

Lau Ming-wai, a British citizen, is vice-chairman of Chinese Estates Group and is both chairman of the government's Commission on Youth and on the steering committee of the HK$10 billion Community Care Fund, established in 2010.

He was formerly a member of the Commission on Poverty.

In 2011, he was part of Henry Tang's election team for the 2012 chief executive election.

Lau had five additional children with two women concurrently out of wedlock, two with Yvonne Lui and three with Kimbee Chan (aka Chan Hoi-wan).

In 2014, he became a convicted felon and fugitive in Macau.

He lives in one of the most expensive houses in Hong Kong, at Goldsmith Road, Jardine's Lookout, valued at HK$2.5 billion with Chan Hoi-wan.

In March 2014, Lau resigned from his positions as chairman and CEO of Chinese Estates after a Macau court convicted him of bribery and money laundering.

His son Lau Ming-wai acceded to the chairmanship of the company.

Sue Chan, the elder sister of Lau's wife Kimbie, became the chief executive of the company Lau founded.

Lau is an avid art collector.

He ranks among ARTnews 's list of the "Top 200 Collectors."

In 2017, Lau gifted the property to his wife Kimbie Chan Hoi-wan and their children.

In 2017, Forbes has estimated the total value of his art collection at around a $1 billion.

In February 2020, Lau offered his David Hockney painting The Splash (1966) at Sotheby's contemporary art sale in London.

The painting sold for $29.9 million, which is the third highest price ever achieved for a Hockney at auction.

Lau owns a collection of more than 10,000 bottles of red wine.

In October 2020, the sales of Lau's French wines at Sotheby's in Hong Kong brought a total of $6.8 million, more than doubling pre-sale expectations.

Following the success of the sale, Lau sold 147 lots (533 bottles in total) again at Sotheby's in Hong Kong.

The sale brought a total of $6.8 million, also doubling its pre-sale estimate.