PBI has drawn on WealthInsight’s research to analyse a specific industry which plays a major part in driving high net worth wealth creation. This month, PBI looked at the real estate sector in Hong Kong, China, Australia, the United Kingdom and Singapore.
Real estate has suffered recently due to the global economic crisis in 2008. One of the main reasons for the actual crisis was the collapse of the housing market in the UK and other parts of Europe. While there was the highest overall decline of interest in real estate within Europe, prime properties in places such as Paris, Monaco, London and Switzerland managed to remain largely unaffected and performed solidly.
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North America saw major declines, especially in the United States, while outlooks seemed positive in Asia with China, Hong Kong and India showing reasonable growth. Emerging markets also saw relatively well returns in the industry, particularly Brazil.
Key geographies
Regions with large amounts of land, particularly land with natural resources such as minerals, crops or water, are prime areas for individuals to invest in real estate. In addition, cities with large, dense populations are also key targets for real estate entrepreneurs.
Hong Kong has one of the most lucrative real estate industries in the world with three of the top five HNWIs in this field working in the area. 9.9% of HNWIs and 10.4% of UHNWIs, percentages that are well above the global average, work in this sector. Not only that, the industry grew by 194% between 2008 and 2012, which is impressive even when considering the massive growth experience by many sectors in China at the moment.
| Name | Wealth (US$bn) | Industry | City of Residence |
| Dr Shau-kee Lee | 22.4 | Real Estate | Hong Kong |
| Dr Yu-Tung Cheng | 19.5 | Real Estate | Hong Kong |
| Kwok family | 18.5 | Real Estate | Hong Kong |
China’s real estate market is extremely developed and managed by public, private and state-owned red chip enterprises. Currently, the market is experiencing tremendous growth and was rated the strongest real estate market in 2010. 8.7% of Chinese HNWIs (and in UHNWIs) create their wealth in this sector, a number which has grown by 68% between 2008 and 2012. Moreover, two of the top ten wealthiest entrepreneurs in the sector are in China.
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By GlobalData| Name | Wealth (US$bn) | Industry | City of Residence |
| Mr Jianlin Wang | 14.9 | Real Estate | Dujiangyan |
| Mrs Huiyan Yang | 7.8 | Real Estate | Foshan city |
| Mrs Lihua Chen | 6.1 | Real Estate | N/A |
Australia’s real estate industry is important to a decent chunk of the wealthy population. 8% of HNWIs and 11.5% of UHNWIs work within this sector. The number of HNWIs involved in real estate actually grew by 21% in the last five years.
| Name | Wealth (US$bn) | Industry | City of Residence |
| Mr Frank Lowy | 5.7 | Real Estate | Sydney |
| Dr John Gandel | 3.8 | Real Estate | Melbourne |
| Mr Harry Oscar Triguboff | 3.3 | Real Estate | Sydney |
The United Kingdom values real estate as a significant feature of its economy and is rated as the largest or second-largest in Europe (after Germany) depending on the method of measurement. Foreign investment, approximately £20 billion, also plays a key role. This is shown in the amount of HNWIs in the sector, currently at 8%. Growth had been stunted due to the burst of the housing bubble within the country, yet still remained at 8% between 2008 and 2012.
| Name | Wealth (US$bn) | Industry | City of Residence |
| Mr Gerard Cavendish Grosvenor | 12.4 | Real Estate | Omagh |
| Lord Charles Cadogan | 5.6 | Real Estate | London |
| Mr Ian Livingstone | 3.3 | Real Estate | London |
Singapore is an emerging market which is seeing its real estate market grow and develop. 7.5% of Singaporean HNWIs work in real estate, a 67% growth from 2008, and 9.5% of UHNWIs do the same.
| Name | Wealth (US$bn) | Industry | City of Residence |
| Mr Phillip Chee Tat Ng | 6.5 | Real Estate | Singapore |
| Mr Keng Liong Kwee | 4.7 | Real Estate | Singapore |
| Mr Ee Chao Wee | 2.9 | Real Estate | Singapore |
