Hong Kong’s richest billionaire Li Ka Shing attends concert in rare public appearance

The tycoon arrived at the Kai Tak Sports Park on Saturday for the second show of the band’s four-night concert series at the location, HK01 reported.

Li, 96, was seen sitting in a private section of the main grandstand and accompanied by businesswoman Solina Chau, who had reserved the space for him.

Chau, the director of the Li Ka Shing Foundation, has been his business partner for more than a decade.

At around 9 p.m., Li was seen leaving the private area in his bike-like wheelchair, waving cheerfully and thanking those around him.

When asked about the recent controversy over the Panama ports sale, the tycoon declined to comment. Chau, who was nearby, stepped in and asked people not to raise such questions.

"Mr. Li has retired. Thank you all very much. It is rare for him to come out like this," she said.

The visit marked a rare public appearance by the billionaire after his business, CK Hutchison Holdings, announced a deal to sell its global ports business, including two key docks at either end of the Panama Canal, to a consortium led by U.S. asset management firm BlackRock, according to Sohu.

Li’s previous public appearance was late last month, when he attended an event as the founder of the Li Ka Shing Foundation to donate a non-invasive liver cancer treatment system to the Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital.

Originally from China’s Guangdong province, Li, who will soon turn 97, is a renowned investor, industrialist, and philanthropist in Hong Kong.

He dropped out of school at a young age and began his career selling plastic flowers, later amassing his wealth through real estate investments.

The veteran investor, who has been the city’s richest individual for years, retired in 2018 and handed over his empire to eldest son Victor Li Tzar-kuoi.

Following the death of billionaire Lee Shau Kee in March, Li is now the sole surviving founder of the city’s legendary "big four" tycoon families.

Though not business-related, his brief visit to the stadium testified to his enduring influence and decades-long legacy.