Aponte vs Li Ka-shing

MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company and CK Hutchison Holdings.

The differences

Forbes puts Li Ka-shing about $1.9B ahead of Gianluigi Aponte.Forbes figures from 9 Oct 2026 and 9 Oct 2026.
Both started the company their money comes from.
Li Ka-shing is about 12 years older than Gianluigi Aponte.
Gianluigi Aponte is from Switzerland; Li Ka-shing is from Hong Kong.

Put someone else on either side

Aponte

Li Ka-shing

Net worth, Forbes: $46.8BForbes, 9 Oct 2026; $48.7BForbes, 9 Oct 2026
Net worth, Bloomberg: $52.7BBloomberg, date not stated; $46.2BBloomberg, 12 Oct 2026
Forbes rank: No. 40Real-Time list, 9 Oct 2026; No. 38Real-Time list, 9 Oct 2026
Billionaire since: Not stated; 1987On Forbes' original 1987 international billionaires list, and on every list since

How it started: Founded itFounded MSC in 1970 in Brussels with a single ship, after working as a ferry captain and a banker; Forbes says he and his wife Rafaela entered shipping together; Founded itStarted Cheung Kong Industries, a plastics maker, in 1950 at 21 with savings and loans from relatives; moved into property in 1960, listed Cheung Kong Holdings in 1972 and took control of Hutchison Whampoa in 1979
Main source: MSC Mediterranean Shipping CompanyBloomberg: 'Aponte's fortune is derived from closely held Mediterranean Shipping'; CK Hutchison and CK Asset stockBloomberg also names Cenovus Energy among the stakes that make up most of his wealth
Companies: MSC Mediterranean Shipping CompanyMSC Mediterranean Shipping Company: Founder and executive chairman of the group; CK Hutchison Holdings, CK Asset HoldingsCK Hutchison Holdings: Senior advisor; CK Asset Holdings: Senior advisor
Biggest stake: MSC Mediterranean Shipping CompanyStake not stated; CK Asset Holdings38% owned

Born: 1940Sorrento, Italy; 13 Jun 1928Chaozhou, Guangdong, China
Country: SwitzerlandLives in Geneva, Switzerland; Hong KongLives in Hong Kong
Education: Not statedItalian Maritime Academy (the nautical institute in his home town); No universityLeft high school; no university education
Parents: From a family of sailors going back more than 300 years; his father opened a hotel in Somalia and died when he was five. He began as a ferry captain in the family business; Born into a poor family that fled to Hong Kong in 1940; his father had been a primary-school principal

Giving Pledge: Not a signer; Not a signer
Foundation: MSC FoundationFounded by the Aponte family in 2018 as the MSC Group's philanthropic arm; Li Ka Shing FoundationThe foundation says he has put in over HK$30 billion since 1980
Lifetime giving: Not stated; $3.8BForbes, 10 Mar 2026. Forbes: the Li Ka Shing Foundation 'has donated more than $3.8 billion', over 80% to Greater China

Role now: Runs the companyFounder and executive chairman of the MSC Group; RetiredSenior advisor to CK Hutchison Holdings and CK Asset Holdings
Successor: His son Diego Aponte (group president) and daughter Alexa Aponte (group CFO) took over ownership of MSC in the last quarter of 2025; His elder son Victor Li succeeded him as chairman of CK Hutchison in May 2018 and also chairs CK Asset
Public office: None found; None found
Legal record: None found; None found