The "Four Great Families of Hong Kong" can be said to be the most influential wealthy families in mainland Hong Kong. They all made their fortunes in real estate, and they take turns to occupy the top position of the richest people in Hong Kong.
Among them, the most famous is the Li Ka-shing family, and the oldest should be the Guo Desheng family.
After Kwok Tak-sheng's death, his eldest son, Kwok Bingxiang, led his two younger brothers to take over, and worked together to build the company into the largest real estate company in Hong Kong by market capitalization and the "real estate giant" with the best reputation in Hong Kong.
Therefore, the Kwok family once became a model for Hong Kong's wealthy families to successfully inherit the family business.
Unexpectedly, after a kidnapping case, Guo Bingxiang was not only blackmailed by Zhang Ziqiang for 2 billion, but also changed his temperament greatly.
The Guo family is no longer prosperous, the brothers are on the wall, and the infighting is continuous. Guo Bingxiang was seized power by his family, which turned into a bloody drama of fighting in the same room.
Wealthy "rebel" Guo Bingxiang
The head of the Kwok family, Kwok Tak-sheng, was born in Macau in 1911, and his ancestral home is Zhongshan. Since childhood, he has been gifted with intelligence and a kind personality. After graduating from elementary school, he followed his father to learn to be a department store wholesaler.
After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Kwok Tak-sheng independently opened a grocery store in Hong Kong, which was later expanded into a wholesale firm of Hung Cheong Department Store. Because of its honest management, fair prices, and prosperous business, he is known as "honest businessman".
In 1952, Guo Desheng began to operate import and export business, with customers all over Southeast Asia, and won the reputation of "King of Foreign Miscellaneous Products".
The Japanese "YKK" zipper he exclusively represented was catching up with the rising trend of zipper clothing, so he made his first pot of gold. With financial support, Guo Desheng saw the characteristics of Hong Kong with more people and less land, and began to get involved in the real estate industry.
In 1963, Kwok Tak-shing, together with Fung King-hei and Lee Shau-kee, co-founded Sun Hung Kai Industrial Company and entered the real estate market in a big way. In 1972, Sun Hung Kai & Co. was successfully listed with a market value of 400 million Hong Kong dollars.
Since then, Fung King-hei and Lee Shau-kee have set up their own doors, and Kwok Tak-sheng has become the controller of Sun Hung Kai. Sun Hung Kai's success is inseparable from Kwok's ability to operate, in addition to catching up with the good timing.
While other real estate developers were selling off on a large scale, he held some of his properties for rent and earned a solid rental income.
In 1987, Kwok spent HK$3.35 billion on land to build the tallest building in Asia at the time, Central Plaza, establishing Sun Hung Kai Properties' high-end image. After several years of development, Sun Hung Kai Properties has become one of the top five real estate companies in Hong Kong.
Kwok Tak-shing started from scratch, not only did he make a big career and became the richest man in Hong Kong, but his family life was also very happy. While running a grocery store, Guo Desheng married Kwong Xiaoqing, who was 18 years younger than him. After marriage, she gave birth to three sons, Guo Bingxiang, Guo Bingjiang, and Guo Binglian.
Thanks to a solid family background, the sons are well educated. The eldest son, Guo Bingxiang, and the second son, Guo Bingjiang, graduated from the University of London with a degree in civil engineering, and the third son, Guo Binglian, holds a master's degree in law from the University of Cambridge and an MBA from Harvard University.
Among the three brothers, the eldest son Guo Bingxiang is particularly prominent, quite like his father.
When Guo Bingxiang was born in 1950, his father's business was already on the right track. He has lived a worry-free life since he was a child, and he doesn't have to worry about money. His life before adulthood was no different from that of many "sons".
After graduating from secondary school, Kwok went to university in the United Kingdom, where he obtained a master's degree in civil engineering and became a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong. It can be seen that in the real estate business, Guo Bingxiang is a professional.
After Kwok returned to Hong Kong after completing his studies, he helped his father take care of his business. He excelled in his father's real estate company, rose through the ranks, and became his father's right-hand man. This kind of experience also laid the foundation for his later succession from his father.
Guo Bingxiang has an elegant appearance and strong ability. Perhaps because of his Western education, his personality is also outstanding. On many matters, he often disagreed with his parents who had strong traditional values, and the two sides often clashed.
Guo Desheng has a headache for this. Among them, the biggest contradiction is Guo Bingxiang's marriage, Guo Bingxiang's rebellious practices made his parents very dissatisfied.
Guo Bingxiang's wife was arranged by his parents. His wife is Gu Zhirong, the youngest daughter of Gu Linqing, the boss of Shanghai's wealthy Gu Xinji.
Gu Zhirong is both talented and beautiful, and is a top student at Stanford University. After returning to Hong Kong after graduation, he joined HSBC as an assistant to the president and later became the head of the Kowloon branch.
Guo Desheng believes that the two are a perfect match, and they are a natural pair. Guo Desheng and Gu Linqing were originally friends, and the two sides hit it off and decided on this family business.
Despite Guo Bingxiang's reluctance, he and Gu Zhirong held a wedding in the United States in 1982.
In fact, when Guo Bingxiang was studying in London, he already had a girlfriend Li Tianying. Li Tianying was born in a family of ordinary doctors, and his thinking was relatively Westernized, so Guo Desheng was very dissatisfied with him. So he beat the mandarin duck and broke up the relationship.
However, Guo Bingxiang never forgot the young and beautiful Li Tianying, and he rented a house in Wofu Garden in North Point and secretly lived with Li Tianying. Half a year later, Guo Bingxiang and Gu Zhirong announced their divorce.
After Guo Bingxiang divorced, he no longer asked his father, but registered his remarriage with Li Tianying in a lightning flash. was so angry that Guo Desheng smoked seven tricks, and angrily scolded Guo Bingxiang as a "rebel".
Guo Desheng resolutely refused to let Li Tianying enter the house, and at the same time cut off Guo Bingxiang's financial source and did not allow his family to receive help. Guo Bingxiang, who was accustomed to the life of a young master, was unmoved and still insisted on going his own way. The couple lived a life of embarrassment for many years, and it was not until they gave birth to two sons and a daughter that they were accepted by their families.
In 1990, Guo Bingxiang died suddenly of a heart attack. According to his will, the family trust fund was managed by Kwong Xiaoqing, and the company was jointly managed by his three sons.
Guo Bingxiang took over as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, and Guo Bingjiang and Guo Binglian both served as Deputy Directors. After Guo Bingxiang's brothers took over, they united as one, bought land on a large scale, carried out "high-turnover" development, and continued to attack cities in the real estate industry.
Following the Central Plaza, they have developed landmark commercial properties such as the International Financial Centre and the World Financial Centre, and then developed residential projects around these commercial centers. This line of thinking has been a great success,
After Kwok Bingxiang and his two younger brothers took over the banner of Sun Hung Kai, they have become one of the largest and most reputable real estate developers in Hong Kong.
At the end of 1992, Sun Hung Kai's market value was close to HK$200 billion, surpassing Li Ka-shing's Cheung Kong Real Estate to become the largest real estate company in Hong Kong. The Kwok family's assets reached 90 billion yuan, entering the industry of Hong Kong's top wealthy families.
Kwok Bingxiang is "better than blue", Sun Hung Kai has quickly developed in his hands, and has always been ranked among the top three real estate in Hong Kong. It can be seen that Guo Bingxiang still has some talents. Even the predecessor Henderson Land boss Lee Shau Kee publicly praised Guo Desheng for giving birth to three good sons.
was kidnapped and blackmailed by Zhang Ziqiang
As the saying goes, things must be opposed. Guo Bingxiang, who was proud of the spring breeze and full of ambition, suffered a major blow in 1997, and his life trajectory began to turn around. And the initiator of the incident was Zhang Ziqiang, the "bandit of the century".
In the 90s of the last century, Zhang Ziqiang can be said to be a legendary figure among robbers, and the shocking crimes he committed have been passed down to this day. Zhang Ziqiang was born in Yulin, Guangxi Province in 1955 and moved to Hong Kong with his parents when he was 4 years old. My father opened an herbal tea shop in the mixed temple street.
Zhang Ziqiang grew up in an environment where police and bandits colluded and gangsters were rampant on the streets. He vowed to make a name for himself in the world of the jungle.
Zhang Ziqiang dropped out of school after graduating from primary school and began to mingle in the rivers and lakes, and after years of hard work, he gradually recruited a group of brothers and became famous.
Zhang Ziqiang was born to mix with the underworld, he is brave, resourceful, and courageous. And he's good at making friends.,It's very good at eating in black and white.。
He is familiar with Hong Kong's laws and is adept at circumventing and exploiting loopholes in evidence and procedures, and always succeeds in getting away with it.
In 1991, Zhang Ziqiang, together with Ye Jihuan and other bandits, armed with AK47, robbed 7 gold shops in Hip Wo Street, Kwun Tong District and Tai Po Road in Sham Shui Port, robbing gold and silver jewelry worth 7.5 million Hong Kong dollars, Zhang Ziqiang became famous in a fight.
In July of the same year, Zhang Ziqiang planned to rob the cash truck at Kai Tak Airport and robbed 160 million Hong Kong dollars.
In 1996, after being released from prison, Zhang Ziqiang was determined to do a bigger vote. On May 23, he actually kidnapped Li Zeju, the eldest son of Li Ka-shing, the richest man in Hong Kong.
The next day, Zhang Ziqiang tied up a bomb and went to the Li Mansion alone to negotiate, and finally succeeded in demanding a sky-high ransom of 1.038 billion Hong Kong dollars.
After Li Zeju was put back, the Li family did not call the police. This further fueled Zhang Ziqiang's arrogance. He set his sights on Guo Bingxiang, the second richest man. The domineering president Guo Bingxiang did not know that he had become the "prey" of the bandits.
September 29, 1997, less than three months before Hong Kong's return to the motherland. Guo Bingxiang drove back to his mansion on Deep Water Bay Road alone late at night, and as soon as he arrived at the gate, he was forcibly kidnapped by Zhang Ziqiang and his accomplices, who had been ambushed in advance, at gunpoint.
According to the previous routine, Zhang Ziqiang dialed the phone of the Guo family and asked for a ransom of 2 billion yuan.
However, the Guo family is not as cheerful as Li Ka-shing, perhaps because they can't prepare so much cash for a while. They have been negotiating with Zhang Ziqiang, and after some haggling, they finally reduced the ransom to 600 million yuan.
On October 3, Guo's two cars were filled with cash and handed over to Zhang Ziqiang, and on October 4, Guo Bingxiang was released in shock.
During the six days of his abduction, Zhang Ziqiang was not polite to Guo Bingxiang, who was locked up in a small black house in the middle of nowhere, beaten and intimidated, and mentally tortured.
This made the pampered Guo Bingxiang deeply stimulated. A year later, Zhang Ziqiang was captured in Guangdong and executed. But the damage done to Guo Bingxiang is irreparable.
Seized power by his family
After Guo Bingxiang was released and returned home, he suffered from post-traumatic sequelae and depression. Perhaps complaining that his family failed to redeem him in time, making him suffer, Guo Bingxiang's attitude towards his family has also changed, and the atmosphere of the Guo family has become a little tense.
Guo Bingxiang couldn't concentrate in the company, his demeanor was a little trance, and his personality became a little suspicious. At the meeting, he questioned the actions of executive director Wong Chik Wing and senior executive Chan Ngai Yuen and others for harming the company's interests when acquiring land.
Although all the allegations have been found to be unsubstantiated, they have seriously affected the company's operations and reputation.
Soon after, Guo Bingxiang pointed the finger at Guo Bingjiang's wife Liang Jieqin, accusing her of not following the procedures for purchasing materials. This caused his younger brother to fight back, believing that it was Guo Bingxiang himself who was arbitrary in the management of the company and not transparent in the selection of construction suppliers.
The internal contradictions of the company are on the verge of breaking out, and the original brotherly harmony is gone.
This kind of open and secret struggle lasted for many years, and was finally detonated by a "peach-colored scandal". When Guo Bingxiang was isolated, Tang Jinxin, a childhood sweetheart, took the initiative to enter his life.
Tang Jinxin was gentle and generous, and empathetic, which gave Guo Bingxiang great comfort, and made Guo Bingxiang, who was depressed, feel the warmth that his family did not have, and the relationship between the two quickly warmed up. The wayward Guo Bingxiang once again came up with the idea of divorce and remarrying.
Kuang Xiaoqing saw through Tang Jinxin's intentions and resolutely opposed it. She urgently convened a family meeting and set up "11 family rules" for Guo Bingxiang, prohibiting him from divorcing Li Tianying and prohibiting Tang Jinxin from participating in company affairs.
Guo Bingxiang, who has passed the age of knowing the destiny of heaven, still has a rebellious personality, he not only arranged Tang Jinxin into the company, but also planned to let her serve on the board of directors.
Kuang Xiaoqing was completely enraged, and in order to ensure the longevity of the Guo family, after many attempts to persuade him to no avail, Kuang Xiaoqing decided to take action against Guo Bingxiang.
In January 2008, Kwok produced a doctor's notice stating that Kwok suffered from manic depression and was unfit to serve as chairman of the company. Kwok Bingxiang agreed to take a leave of absence for treatment, and his two younger brothers temporarily took over the position, and resumed his duties after three months.
However, on February 18, the company issued an announcement that did not mention the reinstatement. Guo Bingxiang suddenly felt that the situation was not good, and he accused his younger brother of using despicable means to fool him.
At the same time, four medical experts were found to stand on the platform to prove that their mental state was fully qualified for the position of chairman of the company.
Guo Bingxiang's actions are futile and useless, his mother and two younger brothers have far surpassed him, and Kwong Xiaoqing is fully capable of determining Guo Bingxiang's status in the company.
On May 27, the 83-year-old Kwong Xiaoqing personally assumed the post of chairman of the company and removed all positions of Guo Bingxiang.
On September 15, 2008, Kwong Xiaoqing announced his resignation, and Kwok Bingjiang and Kwok Binglian served as co-chairmen of the group.
The power of the company was completely taken over by the two younger brothers, and Guo Bingxiang was completely kicked out of the power center of the company. His income in the company is only the salary of a non-executive director plus a subsidy of HK$130,000.
Guo Bingxiang's "deposed" did not let the family's infighting subside, but intensified.
At the end of March 2012, Xinhongji was caught in a huge bribery case, and Guo Bingjiang and Guo Binglian were taken away for investigation. This led to the corruption case of former Chief Secretary for Administration Hui Sze-yan, the highest-ranking official arrested since the establishment of the Independent Commission Against Corruption.
The scandal shocked Hong Kong, and the share price of New Hongji fell in response. It fell sharply by 23% in a short period of time, and the market value evaporated by 70.9 billion yuan, and the company's image and strength were greatly damaged.
According to media speculation, it was Guo Bingxiang who angrily reported to the government in order to avenge the hatred of being seized power by his family.
Kwok Bingxiang was noncommittal about these discussions, but Kwong Xiaoqing reacted by dividing 12.64% of her shares equally between Kwok Bingjiang and Kwok Binglian, and Kwok Bingxiang received nothing.
In the original family trust fund divided equally by the three sons, the eldest son's share is still there, but the beneficiary has been changed from the original "Guo Bingxiang and his family" to "Guo Bingxiang's family", which means that the two sides have completely broken up, and Guo Bingxiang is completely out.
Although the relationship between Kwok and his two younger brothers has since eased, the interests of the family trust have also been restored. But he never returned to New Hongji, but started anew himself, intending to make a comeback.
After more than three years of accumulation, Guo Bingxiang founded Imperial Group in 2014. He has cooperated with a number of real estate tycoons and invested tens of billions of real estate projects in Hong Kong, and his achievements are still remarkable.
Sun Hung Kai also returned to the top of Hong Kong's real estate list in 2018 and regained its former glory. It seems that the three brothers of the Guo family are all business wizards, and they are dragons and phoenixes.
Just as Guo Bingxiang was preparing to make a big move, the unexpected came again. Late at night on August 27, 2018, Guo Bingxiang suddenly fell ill at home and fell into a coma.
On October 20, he died at Hong Kong Adventist Hospital at the age of 68. Leaving a huge amount of 53.8 billion yuan of property inherited by his wife and children, Li Tianying endured for decades and finally had the last laugh.
Guo Bingxiang's life is legendary, he is a hard-working man and has a high talent for business. Unexpectedly, because of Zhang Ziqiang, he encountered a waterloo in life.
After experiencing ups and downs in the trough of life, he regained his strength, but just when his career was booming, he suddenly suffered a catastrophe. has been busy all his life, leaving only the regret of "unfinished career" behind him, and the chicken feathers of "making wedding dresses for others in vain".