Hong Kong's 40 richest men have lost over half their combined wealth as the global economic meltdown takes its toll on the capitalist haven's free-wheeling billionaires, but kingpin Li Ka-shing still holds the top spot, according to Reuters. Li, dubbed "Superman", saw almost half his wealth whittled away to leave him with $16.2 billion, Forbes Magazine says in its "Hong Kong's 40 richest" list for 2009. The head of Cheung Kong Holdings and Hutchison Whampoa, Li, 80, who fled Japanese-occupied China in 1940, built a plastic flower business into a diversified global business empire. The fortunes of Hong Kong's top 40 richest plunged from $179 billion a year ago to $82 billion according to Forbes. The number of billionaires fell from over 40 to 19. Number two on the list were the feuding Kwok brothers; Walter, Raymond and Thomas, who head up Sun Hung Kai Properties with a net worth of $10.8 billion. Their wealth was eroded by 55 percent amid the financial crisis.
