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ToggleBloomberg released its annual list of the "20 Richest Families in Asia" yesterday (13th), with total wealth reaching US$647 billion, a 16% increase from last year. This is the highest total wealth record since the Bloomberg Billionaires Index was established in 2019, and also the largest single-year increase.
The list shows that there are two main drivers behind this round of wealth explosion:
First, the demand for AI infrastructure is growing explosively, benefiting all sectors, including chips, memory, aluminum materials, data centers, and power systems.
Secondly, Hong Kong's property market has shown a significant recovery after several years of downturn.
It's worth noting that Asian wealthy families generally didn't amass their fortunes through developing AI technology, but rather by positioning themselves in the "upstream supply chain" and "infrastructure" of AI. In terms of geographical distribution among the top 10, India leads with 3 entries, followed by Thailand, Hong Kong, South Korea, China, Taiwan, and Indonesia, each with 1-2 entries.
#1 The Ambani family (India) | $89.7 billion, topping the list for two consecutive years
Reliance Industries, helmed by Mukesh Ambani, is India's largest privately held company, with operations spanning three main pillars: oil refining, telecommunications (Jio platform), and retail. The Ambani family's net worth of $89.7 billion has secured them the title of Asia's richest family for two consecutive terms.
Jio Telecom boasts hundreds of millions of users in India, and its subsidiary, Jio Financial Services, is gradually entering the fintech sector, building a vast digital ecosystem. Bloomberg points out that Reliance Industries' diversified portfolio allows family wealth to demonstrate strong resilience in volatile markets.
#2 The Kwok Family (Hong Kong) | US$50.2 billion, the biggest beneficiary of the property market recovery
Sun Hung Kai Properties is Hong Kong's largest property developer. The Kwok family directly benefited from the recovery of Hong Kong's property market in 2026, with their wealth increasing significantly to US$50.2 billion. In addition to residential development, Sun Hung Kai Properties also holds diversified businesses such as telecommunications, hotels, and large shopping malls, thus mitigating the risks associated with a single market cycle.
According to Bloomberg's rankings, the real estate sector saw a significant recovery between 2025 and 2026, driven by capital inflows from Hong Kong and favorable policies. The Kwok family emerged as one of the biggest winners of this revival.
#3 The Lee Family (South Korea) | $45.5 billion, leaping 7 places thanks to HBM chips
The Lee family, led by Samsung's chairman Lee Jae-yong, has jumped dramatically from 10th place last year to 3rd place, marking one of the most dramatic ranking changes on this year's list. The key behind this is Samsung's groundbreaking strategy in the AI memory market.
With the surge in demand for AI computing power, HBM memory has become one of the most sought-after semiconductor components in the world.
Last year, he also visited a small restaurant in Gangnam District, Seoul, to have fried chicken dinner with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang; and personally met with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to actively consolidate Samsung's position in the global AI supply chain.
#4 The Chearavanont Family (Thailand) | $53 Billion, AI Data Center Bets Southeast Asia
Founded in 1921, the Charoen Pokphand Group was started from scratch by the Tse brothers and has grown into a business empire spanning agriculture, retail (7-Eleven), telecommunications (True Corporation), and finance (holding shares in Ping An Insurance).
Amid the AI wave, the Xie family is positioning itself at the forefront through its True IDC data center division. The list shows that True IDC has partnered with BlackRock, the world's largest asset management company, to invest $1 billion over five years in building an AI supercomputing data center in Thailand, aiming to make Thailand a digital hub in Southeast Asia.
Korawad Chearavanont, the fourth-generation successor, is only 31 years old and is raising $100 million in pre-IPO funding for his AI startup Amity, with plans to go public in 2027. The generational handover and technological transformation are proceeding in tandem.
#5 Zhang Family (Shandong, China) | Explosive Demand for Aluminum Leads to Soaring Stock Price
China Hongqiao Group, a subsidiary of Weiqiao Venture, is one of the world's largest aluminum producers and has long been considered a representative of traditional heavy industry. However, the advent of the AI era has unexpectedly made this Shandong-based company a beneficiary of technological wealth.
Bloomberg cited analysis stating, "Investors are drawn to aluminum's ductility, lightweight, and corrosion resistance, making it an indispensable material for server racks, data center cooling systems, and electric vehicles."
China Hongqiao Group's stock price soared by nearly 200% last year, making it one of the most impressive gainers on this list, and the Zhang family's wealth also increased accordingly.
#6 The Tsai Family (Taiwan) | US$34.3 billion, the only Taiwanese representative
The Tsai family is the only Taiwanese family to make the list this year, ranking 6th in Asia with a fortune of US$34.3 billion. This most representative family in Taiwan's financial industry traces its wealth back to Cathay Life Insurance, founded in 1962.
After the family split in 1979, two parallel branches developed: Tsai Wan-lin's branch developed into today's Cathay Financial Holdings, which covers life insurance, commercial banking and investment businesses; Tsai Wan-tsai's branch built Fubon Financial Holdings, which extends its business to insurance, telecommunications (Taiwan Mobile) and real estate. Currently, the Tsai brothers, Ming-hsing and Ming-chung, play a core role on the board of directors of Fubon Financial Holdings.
Bloomberg's rankings show that the Cai family's wealth is stable due to its diversified financial holding portfolio, with overall valuations continuing to rise amid the dual benefits of interest rate cyclicality and a recovering housing market.
#7–10: Energy drinks, tobacco banks, and Indian conglomerates all converge.
The 7th to 10th places on the list also have impressive backgrounds.
The seventh family is the Chaleo Yoovidhya family of the Thai TCP Group, the founding family of Red Bull energy drink, whose brand is present in more than 170 countries around the world.
The eighth family is the Huang family behind Djarum Group and BCA Central Asia, whose businesses span tobacco and finance.
The ninth-ranked Shapoorji Pallonji Group, controlled by the Indian Mistry family, started in engineering and construction and holds assets such as the Irish multinational Sisk.
The 10th family is the Indian Jindal family, whose OP Jindal Group holds a significant position in the steel and energy sectors and also benefits from the demand for raw materials driven by AI infrastructure.
Those who achieve stable wealth are often shovel sellers.
This Bloomberg list reveals an interesting wealth logic: in this wave of AI gold rush, those who truly and steadily become wealthy are often not the gold diggers, but the people who sell shovels.
From Samsung's HBM memory chips and China's Hongqiao Group's aluminum materials to the Xie family's Southeast Asian data center, Asia's top families are demonstrating a pragmatic wealth philosophy: securing the "electricity, materials, and computing" infrastructure needed for AI, so that every capital expenditure of these tech giants becomes a source of their own wealth growth.
