From India's Ambani Family to Hong Kong's Kwok Family: Meet 5 richest families of Asia with Rs 20.5 lakh crore fortune

Asia’s Wealthiest Families and Their Business Empires
Five of the richest families in Asia control massive businesses across industries like real estate, retail, technology, and energy. Together, they have a combined net worth of USD 248 billion (Rs 20.5 lakh crore), according to Bloomberg. Let’s take a closer look at these powerful families and their businesses.

1. The Ambani Family – India (USD 90.5 billion / Rs 7.5 lakh crore)
The Ambani family is the wealthiest in Asia, owning Reliance Industries, one of India’s largest business groups. The company was started in the late 1950s by Dhirubhai Ambani, and after his death in 2002, his wife split the business between their sons, Mukesh and Anil Ambani.

Today, Mukesh Ambani leads the company, which operates the world’s largest oil refinery and is expanding into technology, retail, finance, and renewable energy. His children now help run these divisions. The family lives in Antilia, a 27-story home in Mumbai, which is considered the world’s most expensive private residence.

2. The Chearavanont Family – Thailand (USD 42.6 billion / Rs 3.5 lakh crore)
The Chearavanont family owns Charoen Pokphand Group (CP Group), a business that operates in food, retail, and telecom.

Their journey began in 1921 when Chia Ek Chor left China after a typhoon destroyed his village. He and his brother started selling vegetable seeds in Thailand, eventually growing CP Group into a massive business.

Today, Dhanin Chearavanont is the senior chairman, and his grandson Korawad Chearavanont has founded Amity, a tech startup.

3. The Hartono Family – Indonesia (USD 42.2 billion / Rs 3.5 lakh crore)
The Hartono family built its fortune through Djarum, a major cigarette brand, and its investment in Bank Central Asia (BCA).

The business was founded in the 1950s when Oei Wie Gwan bought a small cigarette company and rebranded it as Djarum. After his death in 1963, his sons expanded the business into banking, and today, BCA is the biggest source of the family’s wealth.

4. The Mistry Family – India (USD 37.5 billion / Rs 3.1 lakh crore)
The Mistry family owns Shapoorji Pallonji Group, a construction and engineering business that started in 1865.

Most of their wealth comes from a large stake in Tata Sons, the main holding company of the USSD 400 billion (Rs 33 lakh crore) Tata Group. However, their Tata investment is illiquid, meaning they cannot easily sell it for cash.

After Ratan Tata’s passing, Noel Tata now leads the Tata Trusts, which control much of Tata Group’s operations.

5. The Kwok Family – Hong Kong (USD 35.6 billion / Rs 2.9 lakh crore)
The Kwok family made their fortune in real estate through Sun Hung Kai Properties, founded by Kwok Tak-seng in 1972.

After Kwok Tak-seng’s death in 1990, his sons Walter, Thomas, and Raymond took over. However, due to a family dispute, Walter was removed as chairman in 2008. Today, Raymond Kwok leads the company, which is one of Hong Kong’s biggest real estate developers.

These five families continue to dominate business in Asia, with their companies expanding and growing their fortunes across different industries.