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Nina Wang
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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This article is about a recently deceased person. Some information, such as the circumstances of the person's death and surrounding events, may change rapidly as more facts become known. |
Nina Wang (née Kung) or Kung Yu Sum (Chinese: 龔如心, pinyin: Gŏng Rúxīn) (September 29, 1937 [1] – April 3, 2007) was Asia's richest woman, with an estimated net worth of $4,200,000,000 at the time of her death. Wang was the widow of Hong Kong chemical magnate Teddy Wang (Wang Teh Huei, 王德輝), who disappeared in 1990 after a kidnapping.
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Kung Yu Sum was born in Shanghai, where she was a childhood playmate of Teddy Wang, the son of Wang Din-shin, who had established a paint and chemical business. The Wangs moved to Hong Kong, and the business became the Chinachem Group, eventually one of Hong Kong's largest and most powerful companies based on a lucrative pharmaceutical division. In 1948, when she was 11 and he 15, they renewed their friendship, and in 1955 they married.[2]
Nicknamed "Little Sweet Sweet" ("Siu Tim Tim" or "小甜甜" in Cantonese), she was noted for her two pigtails and her love of dressing in traditional Chinese dresses.
She was the richest woman in Asia and Asia's 35th richest person, with a fortune of $4.2bn, according to Forbes magazine; a fortune which exceeded that of the Queen of England.
On April 12, 1983, the Wangs' Mercedes was hijacked. Teddy Wang was taken away and chained to a bed for eight days until Nina Wang paid an $11 million ransom. On April 10, 1990, Teddy Wang was kidnapped again. After his disappearance, Nina took the helm of Chinachem under the title of "Chairlady" and built it into a major property developer.
Teddy Wang was declared dead in 1999, although his body was never found, the battle over the late Teddy's fortune began in earnest, with at least three different wills circulating in the court system. The earliest will, the authenticity of which is not contested, was dated 1960 and split the estate equally between Teddy's father Wang Din-shin and Nina. A 1968 version produced by Din-shin (authenticity challenged) gave the entire estate to Din-shin. This will was made after Teddy discovered that his wife was having an affair with Dallas based business man Tony Dimirack.[citation needed] A 1990 will (dated a month before Teddy's abduction) ceded the entire estate to Nina and included the phrase "one life, one love", in English, with the rest of the will in Chinese, stating that the Wang family is disappointing. This will had a signature indicating it was witnessed by the family butler.
On November 21, 2002, after a 171-day courtroom battle featuring some of Hong Kong's most prominent lawyers and accusations of adultery on the part of Nina Wang by Wang Din-shin, High Court Justice David Yam declared the 1990 will a forgery and awarded all of Teddy Wang's estimated $128 million estate to Wang Din-shin. She appealed against the ruling but lost in a 2-1 decision on June 28, 2004. The money was handed over to Wang Din-shin. On January 28, 2005, she was formally charged with the forgery and freed on bail.
On September 16, 2005, the Court of Final Appeal overturned the previous High Court ruling, giving control of the multi-billion dollar Chinachem firm back to Mrs Wang. On December 2, 2005, prosecutors in the fraud case officially dropped all charges, effectively exonerating Wang.
On April 4, 2007, Chinachem announced that Wang passed away at the Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital the previous day. Although the cause of death has not been disclosed, there have been reports suggesting that she might have been suffering from ovarian cancer. [3]
On April 8, 2007, Hong Kong newspaper Sunday Morning Post reports Wang named one individual as the sole beneficiary in her will, according to her lawyer Jonathan Midgley. Contrary to previous reports, Midgley also dismissed claims that her will dictated that her fortune was to go to charity.
In what is believed to be the latest twist of the saga, the person whom laywer Jonathan Midgley represents and claims to be the sole beneficiary in Wang's will, is believed not to be a member from the Wang family or relative.
On April 9, 2007, Hong Kong newspaper Apple Daily reports that the Wang family insist Nina Wang wished to donate the largest portion of the billions estate to set up a charity fund for medical and education developments in China. According to the report, the Wang family members had an 'emergency meeting' after learning Midgley's statement. Apple Daily also describes Midgley's client as 'mysterious person'.
In an interview with Apple Daily, published on April 8, 2007, Hong Kong shipping tycoon Cecil Chao hit back at gambling magnate Stanley Ho, who claimed that Wang's death was the consequence of her being parsimonious. Chao, who had known Wang for 40 years, reveals that the High Court ruling that went against Wang, and the follow-on forgery accusation, was huge blow to her and took a severe toll on her health.
Mr. Chao also paid tribute to Wang, who recalled "In Little Sweetie (Wang's nickname), you just could not feel at all the arrogance of a billionaire, she did not like to be overly in the spotlight, she was a very humble person, very low key and also very astute".
The family of Wang, who are Catholics, have decided to bury rather than cremate her body, against her wishes.
The Catholic funeral will be held at the Hong Kong Funeral Home in North Point on April 18.