HONG KONG -- Five years ago, Hong Kong billionaire Lee Shau-kee said he was "retiring gradually" because he was over 80 and "tired." Finally, at 91, the last of the city's four legendary property barons appears ready to follow through, entrusting his $64 billion Henderson Land Development empire to his two sons.
Lee, a hands-on chairman to the end, is expected to step aside at a shareholders' meeting on May 28 -- a moment that will mark the end of an era in the island city. His departure comes just a year after his archrival Li Ka-shing of CK Hutchison -- known as "superman" for the business savvy that made him one of Asia's most successful entrepreneurs -- stepped down at the age of 89.
