Hong Kong’s richest lose $19b since June 23

Bloomberg

Hong Kong’s wealthiest people are starting to feel the pain from nine weeks of protests that have jammed the financial hub’s streets, weighed on economic growth and battered local stock prices.
The 10 richest tycoons who derive their fortunes from Hong Kong-listed companies have seen their net worth tumble by $19 billion since July 23, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
That was the last day of gains in the city’s equity market before it sank for nine straight sessions, matching its longest losing streak since the former British colony’s handover to China in 1997. Li Ka-shing, Hong Kong’s richest man, saw his fortune drop by $2.7 billion, or about 9%.
While the losses have been fuelled in part by the US-China trade war, they underscore growing concern that Hong Kong’s political crisis will damage the city’s appeal as one of the world’s premier financial and commercial centers.
The protests have already hurt tourism and retail sales, prompting Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan to say that the territory risks a recession.
The fate of the Hong Kong’s billionaires may depend in large part on the path of property prices in the city, which is home to the world’s least affordable houses. The market has so far proved resilient to the protests, but Bloomberg Intelligence has warned that demand for real estate — a key source of wealth for many tycoons in Hong Kong — may wane if the unrest continues.