Editor’s Note
This article reports on the recent public appearance of Hong Kong tycoon Joseph Lau. The piece notes his participation in a local election and describes his demeanor, while also alluding to concerns regarding his health.
On December 7, Hong Kong tycoon Joseph Lau, rarely seen in public, made a joint appearance with his wife, Chan Hoi-wan (Ganbei), at a public event in Hong Kong.
During the event, Lau held his wife’s hand tightly and appeared in fair spirits. However, his physical condition seemed to have deteriorated significantly. He immediately used a wheelchair after getting out of the car and appeared to struggle when standing up. Lau stayed close to his wife and remained mostly silent. Before leaving, Chan Hoi-wan spoke on his behalf to reporters, expressing condolences to the victims of a fire in Tai Po and urging citizens to vote.
After the event, the 74-year-old tycoon, once a dominant figure in Hong Kong’s business world, left in a van with the assistance of bodyguards, his frail背影 a stark contrast to his former powerful image.
Despite stepping back from the limelight, Lau’s legend and the shadow of his vast wealth remain. Particularly in the art collection world, where he is known as one of the “world’s top ten collectors.”
His latest move came in the second half of 2025 when he discreetly commissioned Christie’s to auction one of his most important jewelry pieces: the 9.51-carat, pear-shaped Fancy Vivid Blue diamond named “The Zoe Diamond” after his daughter, Lau Shau-ying (Zoe).
Blue diamonds are the rarest of all colored diamonds, making this a treasure of exceptional rarity and beauty. The diamond’s previous owner was Bunny Mellon, a renowned 20th-century American horticulturist and art collector.
Ultimately, “The Zoe Diamond” sold for a surprisingly low $25.6 million.
This sale was not an isolated incident. Since around the time of Evergrande’s debt crisis in 2021, Joseph Lau has been frequently active in major auction houses, consistently selling assets.
A significant reason for Lau’s aggressive cash-out is undoubtedly linked to Evergrande. Lau and Evergrande’s founder were once closely connected, with their businesses deeply intertwined. Lau’s flagship company, Chinese Estates Holdings, profited handsomely from this relationship.
However, when Evergrande defaulted in 2021, Chinese Estates was implicated. While rumors suggested losses could exceed HK$50 billion, the company’s official statement cited losses over HK$10 billion.
Compounding this, the prolonged downturn in Hong Kong’s property market, particularly affecting the office buildings heavily held by Chinese Estates, has likely put significant pressure on the company’s cash flow due to high vacancy rates and falling rents.
Starting in 2020, as China’s real estate market began showing cracks after years of rapid growth, the business-savvy Lau sensed danger. Citing “his wife’s dissatisfaction with his excessive collection,” he began selling his long-held assets to raise cash, cashing out over HK$1 billion that year alone.
In hindsight, he sold at a peak, achieving returns of over tenfold on some items.
In 2020, he sold several masterpieces, including four works by French-Chinese painter Sanyu and one by contemporary master David Hockney. These five paintings fetched nearly HK$1 billion.
He also sold Sanyu’s “Four Nudes Against a Green Background,” bought for HK$16.3 million in 2005, for a staggering HK$258 million in July 2020—a 16-fold appreciation in 15 years.
Overall, the batch of Sanyu paintings Lau bought for around HK$50 million two decades earlier soared to about HK$500 million, a tenfold increase.
Beyond paintings, he sold antiques. In October 2020, Sotheby’s Hong Kong held two dedicated auctions for Lau.
The first was a专场 of 10 pieces of Ming Dynasty imperial huanghuali furniture, which raised HK$250 million.
The second专场 was his wine collection. A renowned oenophile, Lau once claimed to be “among the top three wine collectors in the world.” With his health no longer allowing him to drink, he sold 117 lots of顶级 French wine for HK$53 million.
In total, Lau raised approximately HK$1.3 billion from auctions in 2020 alone. But this was just the beginning.
From 2022 to 2025, he partnered with Christie’s for four auctions titled “The Ultimate Cellar: The Joseph Lau Collection,” selling more of his prized wines for a total of HK$238 million.
In 2022, he turned to ceramics. At the Spring Sotheby’s auction, he sold 8 pieces of Ming and Qing imperial porcelain for HK$113 million. The top lot was a Ming Yongle-era blue and white ‘kui dragon’ jar, which sold for HK$35 million.
In the Autumn 2022 Sotheby’s auction, he sold 7 out of 10 antique pieces for HK$64.1 million.
In 2023, Lau began offloading his vast collection of Hermès handbags. A self-proclaimed Hermès fanatic and顶级 VIP, he was known for gifting Hermès bags lavishly to the women in his life, including his current wife, Chan Hoi-wan, who is rumored to own over 700 Hermès bags.
In Spring 2023, Sotheby’s Hong Kong held “The Collection of Joseph Lau: Exceptional Handbags.”
Lau sold 76 Hermès bags and 1 Chanel bag for nearly HK$25 million. The sale included several顶级 crocodile skin Birkins valued at nearly HK$1 million each. Notably, some of the bags auctioned were models previously used by his former partner, Lui Lai-kwan.