The former British colony of Hong Kong which was returned to the communist China in 1997 is now home to some of the richest people in Asia and the world. The inaugural Forbes list of Hong Kong's 40 richest people is a list of billionaires, with mere multimillionaires nowhere to be seen. Like many places around the world it is no longer enough to be a multimillionaire, as you now have to be a billionaire to be at the top of the money heap.

The 79 year old head of Hutchison Whampoa and Cheung Kong Holdings Li Ka-shing is the richest man in Hong Kong and Asia. Li Ka shing's conglomerate controls the biggest healthy and beauty retailer in the world and is also the world's largest operator of container terminals. Asia's richest man saw his wealth increase from $22 billion last year, to $32 billion this year.

The overall wealth of the people in Hong Kong with wealth tied up in quality stocks saw impressive increases in net worth because of the 40% increase in the benchmark Hang Seng index.

Inheritance ensured that the next entrants on the Hong Kong rich list were very wealthy. The three Kwok brothers (Raymond, Thomas and Walter Kwok) have an estimated $24 billion net worth. With Hong Kong having some of the most expensive real estate in the world, the Kwok brothers are onto a winner with Sun Hung Kai Properties, which is one of the largest property developers in the city.

The remaining top 5 richest people in Hong Kong consist of the investor known as Asia's Warren Buffett, Lee Shau Kee with $23 billion in third position. Cheng Yu-tung is in fourth position with an estimated $9.4 billion from his investments and control of New World Development. The 86 year old casino mogul Stanley Ho is the fifth richest man in Hong Kong with an estimated $9 billion.

The combined net worth of the wealthiest 40 people in Hong Kong is about $179 billion US dollars. This is a remarkable figure when you consider that half of the residents of Hong Kong get by with an annual income of just $15,400.