As Jailed Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Media Tycoon Jimmy Lai Faces Life Sentence, a Look at His Struggles and Fortune

What Is Jimmy Lai’s net worth?

Influential Hong Kong billionaire and one of the most prominent supporters of the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong, Jimmy Lai has an estimated net worth of over $1 billion, as per The Sun. Before his arrest in 2020, Lai’s net worth was estimated to be $1.2 billion by Reuters. Lai is the founder of the apparel company Giordano, the media company Next Digital, and the popular tabloid Apple Daily.

Hailed as a hero in Hong Kong, Lai is seen as a traitor in mainland China. The media tycoon known for his support of the city’s pro-democracy movement was arrested in 2020 and has remained behind bars since then. As per a CNN report, Lai will now face trial on “three counts of colluding with foreign forces, under the national security law and a separate sedition charge”, according to the indictment.

Lai faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if he is convicted. The trial is expected to last at least 80 days and it could set ground-breaking precedents for Hong Kong’s changing legal landscape.

Jimmy Lai’s Sources of Income

Early Life and Career

Lai was born in one of the most tumultuous periods of Chinese history. In 1958, when he was just 10 years old, Mao Zedong the agricultural collectivization policy called the “Great Leap Forward”, which resulted in the worst famine in human history. While his father fled the country, Lai survived the drought in which tens of millions of people died.

At the age of 12, Lai escaped the mainland in a fishing boat. He reached Hong Kong which he saw as “heaven” as it was under British control. He started his career as a child laborer working on the floor of a garment factory. He eventually became a manager. Lai then bet his savings on the booming Hong Kong stock market and used his investment profits to buy the Comitex factory from its bankrupt owners.

He then went on to establish his clothing brand, Giordano, at age 26. The company initially produced sweaters for American retailers like J.C. Penney. The company quickly grew and expanded into casual clothing as well.

Lai further ventured into media after the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre inspired him to defend democracy. He started Next Weekly, a magazine known for investigative journalism. Later, it turned into Next Media which published Sudden Weekly, Eat & Travel Weekly, and Easy Finder throughout the 1990s.

In 1993, Lai drew criticism from the mainland after he published a column in which he called then-Chinese premier Li Peng "the son of a turtle's egg with zero IQ", as per reports. In retaliation, the Chinese government shut down Giordano stores on the mainland and Lai was forced to sell a stake in the company.

Lai reportedly made $280 million from the sale, per The Guardian. Further, as Hong Kong’s economy boomed, Lai’s fortune grew to new heights. By 2008, Forbes pegged Lai’s net worth at an estimated $1.2 billion, mentioning him as one of the richest in Hong Kong.

Also, in 1995, Lai started Apple Daily two years before the Hong Kong handover. It was an instant hit and within two months it was the second-biggest newspaper in the city. Lai had reportedly pumped in HK$100 million to start the publication.

Apple Daily threw its huge influence behind Lai’s political views in 2003 for the first time. It strongly opposed an attempt by the Hong Kong government to implement the legislation known as Article 23, which prohibited treason or sedition against Beijing.

The Daily campaigned vigorously and helped gather half a million people for a march. The demonstration eventually led to the shelving of Article 23, but it painted a target on Lai’s back.

Real Estate Assets

Lai has a prolific portfolio of international real estate. As per The Guardian, Lai owns homes in Hong Kong, London, Paris, Taipei, and Kyoto. Further, Lai spent a reported $73 million on a group of luxury hotels in Niagara-on-the-Lake in Canada, which is managed by his twin sister.

Personal Life

Lai is married to Teresa, and the two have three children together. Lai has three more children from his first marriage with a woman named Judy. Teresa is credited with his conversion to Catholicism in the late 1990s.

Lai’s pro-democracy campaign has affected his supportive family as well. His two eldest sons were arrested in 2020, on charges of conspiracy to defraud and collusion with foreign forces. Sebastien, his second-youngest son has now become a full-time campaigner for his father’s release from prison.

Sebastien's strategy has been to appeal to the international community and governments to put pressure on Hong Kong. He has campaigned for the UK Government to step in as Lai is a British citizen. 

Jimmy Lai’s arrest

In 2019, people took to the streets in a wave of demonstrations which often culminated in widespread violence between police and activists. The protests were spurred by Beijing’s crackdown on the wide-ranging freedoms that were promised to Hong Kong after the handover. The implementation of a new national security law was one of the primary triggers.

Lai was arrested in December 2020 following charges related to two large pro-democracy demonstrations in 2019. He appeared in court in 2021, and was found guilty of taking part in “unauthorised assemblies” and sentenced to 14 months in prison for his involvement.

Since the protests, dozens of the city’s most prominent democracy activists have been jailed or have fled overseas. The arrest of Lai and other activists signaled the government's consolidation of its authoritarian grip.

FAQs

How old is Jimmy Lai?

Jimmy Lai is 76 years old.

Where is Jimmy Lai now?

Lai has been in prison for the past three years on charges filed under China's sweeping new national security law. If convicted on the charges, Lai could face life in prison.

How many children does Jimmy Lai have?

Lai has six children in total, three with his first wife and three with his second wife.

Is Jimmy Lai a Catholic?

Jimmy Lai was received into the Catholic Church in 1997.

Who is the owner of Apple Daily?

Apple Daily was founded by billionaire businessman Jimmy Lai.

What is Jimmy Lai’s net worth now?

Jimmy Lai has an estimated net worth of over $1 billion, as per The Sun.