E-Paper
Hong Kong billionaire gave gifts worth over $250 million to daughter-in-law before his death: report
Hong Kong socialite Cathy Chui received gifts worth over $257 million from her billionaire father-in-law before his death in March this year.
Hong Kong socialite Cathy Chui received gifts worth over $257 million from her billionaire father-in-law before his death in March this year. According to a report in The Standard, property tycoon Lee Shau Kee gifted Cathy a yacht, a mansion, an education fund for her children and land worth millions of dollars.
Who is Cathy Chui?
Cathy Chui is the wife of Martin Lee, the younger son of Hong Kong’s second richest man, Lee Shau Kee. Cathay and Martin tied the knot in 2006 in what the media dubbed "the wedding of the century," as per a report in VnExpress.
Cathy used to be an actress before her marriage to Martin. She is today a well-known socialite and philanthropist in Hong Kong. Tatler Asia describes her as “a lodestar in the realm of philanthropy.” She has been conferred with several awards recognising her contributions, including the amfAR Award of Courage in 2018.
What gifts did she receive?
Cathy Chui is the only daughter-in-law of the billionaire Lee family. Over her 19 years of marriage, Cathy gave birth to four children. Each birth was celebrated lavishly, and her father-in-law sent her extravagant gifts for each child.
The gifts included a mansion, a HK$50 million education fund, land worth HK$1.82 billion and a HK$110 million yacht.
It was these gifts that earned her the nickname of “Hundred-billion daughter-in-law” in tabloids.
Lee Shau Kee did not just lavish gifts on his daughter-in-law. According to a report in SCMP, he also handed out HK$10,000 in cash to each of his 1,500 staff members after the birth of his grandson in 2015.
Who was Lee Shau Kee?
Lee Shau Kee was Hong Kong’s second-richest man, often called “Asia's Warren Buffett”. He was a real estate tycoon and majority owner of Henderson Land Development. He died on March 17, 2025 at the age of 97.
At the time of his death, his fortune was estimated to be $23.2 billion, according to Bloomberg. After his death, his fortune was divided between his two sons - Peter and Martin.
