If you walk through the lobby of a high-end auction house in Hong Kong or London, the name Joseph Lau Luen-hung carries a weight that’s hard to describe. It’s a mix of awe, scandal, and pure, unadulterated financial muscle. Most people know him as the guy who bought a $48.4 million blue diamond for his seven-year-old daughter. Or maybe you know him as the billionaire who can’t set foot in Macau without being tossed into a prison cell.
But honestly? Joseph Lau is a lot more complicated than a tabloid headline about "The Blue Moon of Josephine."
He’s a man who built a property empire, survived a kidney transplant, and effectively "retired" while still pulling the strings of one of the most influential real estate firms in Asia. You've probably heard the rumors about his health or his falling out with the Evergrande group. Most of it is noise. To really understand the man, you have to look at the intersection of his massive art collection, his legal exile, and the way he’s spent the last decade moving his wealth into the hands of his wife, Chan Hoi-wan (widely known as Kimbee).
The Electric Fan King Who Conquered Central
Joseph Lau didn’t start with skyscrapers. He started with fans. Back in 1974, after a stint at the University of Windsor in Canada, he joined the family business making electric fans.
It wasn't enough.
By 1978, he founded Evergo Industrial Enterprise. Within a few years, he realized that moving air wasn't nearly as profitable as moving land. He pivoted. Hard. He took Evergo public and began a series of aggressive corporate raids that earned him a reputation as a "stock market sniper." He wasn't just buying companies; he was taking over icons.
His biggest prize? Chinese Estates Holdings.
He snagged a 43% stake in 1986 and turned it into a real estate juggernaut. We’re talking about The ONE in Tsim Sha Tsui—literally the tallest retail complex in Hong Kong. He didn't just build malls; he built landmarks. But the business world is fickle. Lau’s aggressive style made him plenty of enemies, and his close ties to other tycoons, like Evergrande’s Hui Ka Yan, would later come back to haunt his balance sheet.
The Macau Conviction: A Five-Year Sentence He Never Served
Here is the part that always trips people up. In 2014, a Macau court found Lau guilty of bribery and money laundering. The charge? Paying a HK$20 million bribe (about $2.5 million) to Macau’s former public works chief, Ao Man-long, to secure land deals near the airport.
The sentence was five years.
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Lau hasn't spent a single night in a Macau jail. Why? Basically, because Hong Kong and Macau don’t have an extradition treaty. As long as he stays in Hong Kong, he’s a free man. It’s a bizarre, high-stakes game of "The Floor is Lava." He resigned as Chairman and CEO of Chinese Estates immediately after the verdict, handing the reins to his son, Lau Ming-wai, but the "fugitive" label has stuck to him like glue ever since.
It hasn't stopped him from living a life that defines "lavish." He lives in what is frequently cited as one of Hong Kong's most expensive homes. He flies in a private Boeing 787 Dreamliner. He doesn't look like a man on the run; he looks like a man who won.
The Billion-Dollar Gallery: Art, Wine, and Hermes
If you think his real estate portfolio is big, his "hobby" collection is arguably more impressive. Forbes estimated his art collection alone is worth over $1 billion.
- Andy Warhol’s "Mao": He dropped $17.4 million on this.
- Paul Gauguin’s "Te Poipoi": A cool $39.2 million.
- David Hockney’s "The Splash": He reportedly sold this for nearly $30 million in 2020.
He doesn't just buy paintings. He’s one of the world's most prolific wine collectors, with a cellar containing over 10,000 bottles. In recent years, he’s been thinning the herd. In May 2025, he sold off another US$9.3 million worth of rare wines through Christie’s. Why sell? Some say it’s estate planning. Others think he’s just rotating his assets.
And then there are the handbags. Lau famously auctioned off 77 luxury Hermès bags recently, netting over $3 million. Most of these were rare Birkins and Kellys collected over decades. When you have so much wealth that you can treat a "diamond of the century" as a birthday gift for a child, your "clutter" is a regular person's retirement fund.
The Kimbee Era: Who Really Controls the Fortune?
Lau’s health has been a major talking point for years. After a kidney transplant in 2016 and ongoing heart issues, he began a massive restructuring of his assets.
He didn't just write a will; he started gifting.
He transferred the bulk of his 75% stake in Chinese Estates to his wife, Kimbee Chan, and his son. By 2017, Kimbee—a former entertainment reporter—became one of the richest women in Hong Kong. This wasn't just a romantic gesture; it was a strategic move to protect the family’s wealth amidst his legal status and health volatility.
There were rumors in late 2023 that Kimbee had lost billions in bad investments, specifically related to the Evergrande collapse. Lau actually held a rare, impromptu press conference to shut those rumors down. He was visibly annoyed, defending his wife and insisting he was still in good health. "Look at me," he told reporters. "Do I look like I’m about to die?"
Why Joseph Lau Still Matters in 2026
You can't talk about the Hong Kong property market without talking about the shadow Lau still casts. While he's technically retired, his influence over Chinese Estates remains total. The company has struggled with its exposure to Mainland Chinese property debt, but Lau’s personal liquidity—backed by that massive art and diamond collection—gives him a safety net most billionaires only dream of.
He’s a relic of a different era of Hong Kong business. A time of "poker buddy" deals and aggressive land grabs.
Actionable Insights: Lessons from the Lau Legacy
If you're looking at the Joseph Lau story as a case study in wealth management or business, here’s what you actually need to take away:
- Asset Diversification is King: Lau didn't just keep his money in bricks and mortar. When the property market dipped, his $1 billion art and wine collection acted as a massive, liquid hedge.
- Succession is Messy but Necessary: By moving his shares to Kimbee and his children years ago, he avoided the catastrophic probate battles that often destroy tycoon families after they pass.
- Legal Jurisdictions Matter: Lau’s ability to remain free despite a conviction is a masterclass in understanding the nuances of "One Country, Two Systems." In business, knowing where your assets (and your person) are legally protected is as important as the profit margin.
- Public Perception vs. Reality: Lau survives because he manages his narrative. Even as a "fugitive," he maintains the status of a philanthropist and a pillar of the high-society art world.
Keep an eye on the upcoming 2026 auction cycles. Whenever Lau puts a piece of his collection on the block, it’s usually a signal of where he thinks the broader economy is heading. If he’s selling wine and handbags, he’s likely building a war chest for the next big move in the Hong Kong skyline.