Top 5 Global Real Estate Investors of 2022
Within Canada, and specifically Toronto, real estate tends to be booming, and this is the case in many cities across the world from Vancouver, to Shanghai, Beijing, Seoul, Tokyo, Los Angeles, London, New York and beyond. Not only are major metropolises continuing to grow but the outskirts of those areas are also starting to see an influx in real estate investment as people move outwards, for example from Toronto to Hamilton, causing a boom in locations surrounding the area of the main city. As such many real estate investors around the world are snapping up even more properties, in fact in Toronto there have been issues with foreigners like Chinese nationals purchasing high valued properties in Canada from out of the country, driving up prices and paying amounts people within the country who are not tycoons cannot afford. With that being said, it is no surprise that the majority of the top real estate investors from around the world are billionaires of Chinese origin.
5. Wang Jianlin
Wang Jianlin is the chairperson of one of the most highly regarded and popular real estate companies in China, known as the Dalian Wanda Real Estate Group. This company is a giant overseas that beyond real estate invests in different industries including media, construction, hospitality, technology and finances.
Wang Jianlin was not always successful and did not come from a wealthy family, to begin with, he was the child of a soldier in China, and was forced to move in with his mother-in-law in 1989 due to a lack of income. He then decided to accept a position at a real estate firm that was deeply in debt, but within the first 3 years, he was able to turn things around and generate a profit for the company and become the CEO.
In 1992, he used his income from his previous job as a CEO to start his own company with an investment of $80k. From there it continued to grow and has now become one of the prestigious real estate investment firms in China. From 1992 with 80k to 30 years later in 2022 Wang Jianlin has managed to amass a net worth of over 20 billion dollars. The company also has dealings and investments in Spain, USA and Australia among others.
4. Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud
It is no surprise that at least one member of a royal family would make this list, and that is Prince Alwaleed from Saudi Arabia. He is one of the wealthiest real estate tycoons in the region and his expansive portfolio is worth over 22 billion dollars. He is in control of a number of different companies ranging from real estate development, retail, agriculture, entertainment and aviation, including Kingdom Holding Company. Some of the most noticeable trading endeavours for Prince Alwaleed include Twitter, Lyft, Coca-Cola, Ford and Snapchat. Additionally, he owns many properties around the world including luxury hotels in Europe like London and Paris, often being referred to as the “Warren Buffet of the Middle East”.
At one point his investments were valued at a whopping 37 billion dollars, however, after an arrest for including bribery, money laundering and extortion of officials, his value has dropped significantly. Due to a lack of transparency, he was also dropped from a list of top billionaires. Despite this, he is still one of the wealthiest real estate tycoons in the world.
3. Yang Huiyan
The first woman on the list is Yang Huiyan, she is often considered one of the wealthiest women in Asia, if not the wealthiest. She inherited much of her wealth from her late billionaire father who started and grew the company initially, however, Yang Huiyan has worked very hard in her own right to continue to grow and support the company. The company is known as Country Gardens Holdings and is known internationally, with much property in Australia and Malaysia. One of the biggest projects undertaken by this company is the “Liuzhou Forest City” set to be built in Guangxi, China. This project will cost over 100 billion dollars to complete and is a very extensive and long-term undertaking that could see a great return.
She is also the head of a popular Chinese training and development company called Bright Scholar Education Holdings. She has shown great skills as a real estate developer and saw her wealth multiply over the course of a few weeks by over 2 billion dollars when the company's stocks surged. The business was started by her father decades ago when he found he could not afford university fees and tuition. She has been contributing to her late father’s company ever since she was a young woman in her 20s and has rightfully earned the 3rd spot on this list with a net worth of 27 billion dollars.
2. Hui Ka Yan
Another Chinese real estate tycoon on our list is Hui Ka Yan, with a net worth of over 27 billion dollars, he owns the company Evergrande Real Estate, which develops commercial, residential and hotel projects around the globe. They are one of the biggest and strongest real estate firms in the world, controlling many projects and portfolios. Evergrande is running over 740 projects in China alone currently including Evergreen Oasis Wuhai, Inner Mongolia, and Evergreen Spring City Enping. He is also a successful investor in other countries including Hong Kong and Australia. Other companies that Hui Ka Yan controls include companies like Wuyang Iron & Steel and Guangzhou Pengda Group, which control and produce building materials among other things.
Interestingly Hui was a teacher before he became a real estate agent, through his success he has proved that anyone can make a great real estate developer despite humble beginnings. He obtained his degree in metallurgy and became a university professor in 1982 but his interest in real estate compelled him to start a new property endeavour because of his strong management skills. Initially, people doubted him, but he is now one of the most respected developers in the game. Beyond his interest in proprietorship, he takes a personal liking to sports and has his own professional soccer team.
1. Lee Shau Kee
Hong Kong’s wealthiest person tops our list of real estate moguls with an estimated value of over 32 billion dollars in 2021. Lee runs a variety of cafes, internet services and hotel chains, including his property conglomerate Henderson Land Development, where a significant portion of his wealth is retained. The most well-known projects his company is undertaking include the International Commerce Center and the International Finance Center in Hong Kong.
He heads multiple investment projects like the Miramar Hotel, The Hong Kong and China Gas Company, and Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd. In addition to those projects, Lee is also a strong stakeholder in both Hong Kong Ferry Holdings Ltd. and the Bank of East Asia Ltd.
He grew up as a commoner in China, who could not afford much to eat and sustain himself with. However, in 1976, he founded his real estate development company, Henderson. Since that time, the company has garnered him fame and fortune over the decades as it continues to grow despite a temporary downfall in 2019 after he shared his chairmanship with his sons. Today, he is called the “Hong Kong Warren Buffett” and has also made huge profits through his stock investment endeavours in China as well to continue to recover from 2019 and grow his wealth.