Earlier this month, when news broke that actress Isabella Leong and boyfriend Richard Li had their first bundle of joy, baby boy Ethan, it sent the Hong Kong entertainment fans into a frenzy.
After all, 42-year-old Richard is the second son of Hong Kong’s richest man, Mr. Li Ka Shing.
With a dad of such stature, you know there’s a staggering amount of money involved.
According to Mingpao Weekly, although the couple have no immediate plans to marry, Richard has reportedly given Isabella nearly HK$200 million ($38 million) in the form of two mansions in San Francisco, on top of jewellery and stocks.
Isabella, who will turn 21 on Tuesday, is now a full-fledged tai tai (socialite).
Those who have been following the showbiz scene religiously would have seen it coming.
Hong Kong female celebrities have a seemingly endless fascination with tai tai-hood.
Isabella’s union with the tech billionarie (Mr. Li is the chairman of PCCW, Hong Kong’s largest telecommunications provider) makes her the fourth female celebrity over the last four years to hit the super-duper rich league.
Most glaring is the age gap between her and Mr. Li - he is more than 20 years her senior.
Isabella’s humble background, vastly different from that of Mr. Lee’s, makes her a target of envy and, for some, scorn.
Her father died when she was just a few months old, leaving her and her elder sister in the care of her mother.
She dropped out of school at the age of 12 and started working as a model to support her family.
In a 2007 interview with Lianhe Zaobao, she revealed that in her childhood days, she once accompanied her mum to borrow money from people.
‘At that time, the feeling of seeing my own mother plead with someone else for money was really sucky,’ she said then.
‘But after I came out to work, I promised myself I will never let my mum suffer hard times again.’
When they first started dating in March last year, Mr. Lee was apparently so smitten with Isabella that he immediately broke up with his then-girlfriend to be with her.
Shortly after, Isabella was embroiled in a legal contractual dispute with her ex-management company Emperor Entertainment Group.
When the whole matter was finally settled out of court, it fuelled talk that Mr. Li had bought her out of her contract for more than HK$10 million.
We look at three other female celebs who have successfully gone from showbiz to tai tai-hood.
Actress Michelle Reis’ marriage to businessman tycoon Julian Hui, 46, last November came after a highly-publicised 14-month affair.
It drew the attention of the paparazzi as Mr. Hui was still married to his then-wife Pansy Ho, daughter of casino tycoon Stanley Ho, during their courtship.
He eventually ended his 16-year marriage to be with Michelle, 39, officially.
The couple’s private ceremony and reception, held at the Hui family mansion in ShekO, Hong Kong, cost more than HK$100 million.
Before her marriage to Mr. Hui, Michelle had developed a reputation for her string of relationships with married millionaires.
In 2006, she opened up about those relationships to host Stephen Chan on his popular talk show Be My Guest.
She admitted that in the early 1990s, she dated Mr. Lau Luan Hung, Hong Kong’s king of real estate, but Michelle said they later split up due to Mr. Lau’s ‘philandering ways’.
It was an affair for which Michelle says she will ‘take 50 per cent of the responsibility’ as she knew it had hurt Mr. Lau’s wife emotionally.
In 2005, Michelle was accused by the paparazzi once again for becoming the third party in the marriage of another businessman, Mr. Pong Wai Yan.
She defended herself on the talk show, claiming that she was ‘the victim’ in that particular relationship.
Mr. Pong had lied to her about getting a divorce and had even showed her his ‘divorce papers’, she said.
When it comes to hooking up with the super-rich dudes, neither looks nor age matters.
Case in point? Gigi Lai.
In February, Mingpao Daily News reported that the former TVB (Television Broadcasts Limited) artiste, 37, had married tycoon Patrick Ma, 52.
Mr. Ma is a scion of the Ma family who founded the Oriental Press Group, the publisher of prominent newspaper Oriental Daily.
The fact that Patrick walks with a crutch caught the attention of the Hong Kong media.
They were merciless in splashing it all over the headlines: ‘Gigi Lai marries disabled millionaire.’
But Gigi defended the union to Mingpao: ‘I am thankful to have found someone who loves me and with whom I can share my life with.’
In a way, the marriage couldn’t have been more timely for her.
Last October, she tearfully announced that she would be retiring from showbiz to take care of her twin brother, who had suffered serious injuries in a traffic accident.
Tying the knot with Mr. Ma inevitably lifted part of the financial burden off her.
Recently caught by the Hong Kong paparazzi in maternity wear, Gigi is rumoured to be four months’ pregnant and reportedly spends more than HK$300,000 a month on expensive herbs and tonics.
Before Tony Leung and Carina Lau’s ‘wedding of the century’ in Bhutan last year, Hong Kong’s most lavish and diamond-studded wedding had to be the one between model-actress Cathy Tsui, 27, and billionaire heir Martin Lee, 38.
The couple, who has two daughters, married in December 2006.
Mr. Lee is the second son of Mr. Lee Shau Kee, the founder of Hong Kong’s multi-billion-dollar corporation Henderson Land Development.
According to Xinhua News, Mr. Lee and Cathy held their grand wedding in Sydney - a daytime ceremony at the Royal Botanic Gardens, followed by an evening banquet at the State Theatre.
The full-day affair allegedly cost the Lee family more than HK$100 million.
Then, there were rumours that the elder Mr. Lee had given Cathy’s parents two luxury apartments valued at more than $19 million each, plus a private jet worth more than HK$300 million to Mr. Lee and Cathy.
Cathy reportedly burst into tears of happiness during her wedding and said in her speech: ‘I am blessed! Heaven sent me such joy and gave me such a good husband.’
She was also quoted as saying that after marriage, she would be ‘involved in charity work to help the needy’.
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Tai tai tie-ups
Earlier this month, when news broke that actress Isabella Leong and boyfriend Richard Li had their first bundle of joy, baby boy Ethan, it sent the Hong Kong entertainment fans into a frenzy.
After all, 42-year-old Richard is the second son of Hong Kong’s richest man, Mr. Li Ka Shing.
With a dad of such stature, you know there’s a staggering amount of money involved.
According to Mingpao Weekly, although the couple have no immediate plans to marry, Richard has reportedly given Isabella nearly HK$200 million ($38 million) in the form of two mansions in San Francisco, on top of jewellery and stocks.
Isabella, who will turn 21 on Tuesday, is now a full-fledged tai tai (socialite).
Those who have been following the showbiz scene religiously would have seen it coming.
Hong Kong female celebrities have a seemingly endless fascination with tai tai-hood.
Isabella’s union with the tech billionarie (Mr. Li is the chairman of PCCW, Hong Kong’s largest telecommunications provider) makes her the fourth female celebrity over the last four years to hit the super-duper rich league.
Most glaring is the age gap between her and Mr. Li - he is more than 20 years her senior.
Isabella’s humble background, vastly different from that of Mr. Lee’s, makes her a target of envy and, for some, scorn.
Her father died when she was just a few months old, leaving her and her elder sister in the care of her mother.
She dropped out of school at the age of 12 and started working as a model to support her family.
In a 2007 interview with Lianhe Zaobao, she revealed that in her childhood days, she once accompanied her mum to borrow money from people.
‘At that time, the feeling of seeing my own mother plead with someone else for money was really sucky,’ she said then.
‘But after I came out to work, I promised myself I will never let my mum suffer hard times again.’
When they first started dating in March last year, Mr. Lee was apparently so smitten with Isabella that he immediately broke up with his then-girlfriend to be with her.
Shortly after, Isabella was embroiled in a legal contractual dispute with her ex-management company Emperor Entertainment Group.
When the whole matter was finally settled out of court, it fuelled talk that Mr. Li had bought her out of her contract for more than HK$10 million.
We look at three other female celebs who have successfully gone from showbiz to tai tai-hood.
JULIAN HUI & MICHELLE REIS
Actress Michelle Reis’ marriage to businessman tycoon Julian Hui, 46, last November came after a highly-publicised 14-month affair.
It drew the attention of the paparazzi as Mr. Hui was still married to his then-wife Pansy Ho, daughter of casino tycoon Stanley Ho, during their courtship.
He eventually ended his 16-year marriage to be with Michelle, 39, officially.
The couple’s private ceremony and reception, held at the Hui family mansion in ShekO, Hong Kong, cost more than HK$100 million.
Before her marriage to Mr. Hui, Michelle had developed a reputation for her string of relationships with married millionaires.
In 2006, she opened up about those relationships to host Stephen Chan on his popular talk show Be My Guest.
She admitted that in the early 1990s, she dated Mr. Lau Luan Hung, Hong Kong’s king of real estate, but Michelle said they later split up due to Mr. Lau’s ‘philandering ways’.
It was an affair for which Michelle says she will ‘take 50 per cent of the responsibility’ as she knew it had hurt Mr. Lau’s wife emotionally.
In 2005, Michelle was accused by the paparazzi once again for becoming the third party in the marriage of another businessman, Mr. Pong Wai Yan.
She defended herself on the talk show, claiming that she was ‘the victim’ in that particular relationship.
Mr. Pong had lied to her about getting a divorce and had even showed her his ‘divorce papers’, she said.
PATRICK MA & GIGI LAI
When it comes to hooking up with the super-rich dudes, neither looks nor age matters.
Case in point? Gigi Lai.
In February, Mingpao Daily News reported that the former TVB (Television Broadcasts Limited) artiste, 37, had married tycoon Patrick Ma, 52.
Mr. Ma is a scion of the Ma family who founded the Oriental Press Group, the publisher of prominent newspaper Oriental Daily.
The fact that Patrick walks with a crutch caught the attention of the Hong Kong media.
They were merciless in splashing it all over the headlines: ‘Gigi Lai marries disabled millionaire.’
But Gigi defended the union to Mingpao: ‘I am thankful to have found someone who loves me and with whom I can share my life with.’
In a way, the marriage couldn’t have been more timely for her.
Last October, she tearfully announced that she would be retiring from showbiz to take care of her twin brother, who had suffered serious injuries in a traffic accident.
Tying the knot with Mr. Ma inevitably lifted part of the financial burden off her.
Recently caught by the Hong Kong paparazzi in maternity wear, Gigi is rumoured to be four months’ pregnant and reportedly spends more than HK$300,000 a month on expensive herbs and tonics.
MARTIN LEE & CATHY TSUI
Before Tony Leung and Carina Lau’s ‘wedding of the century’ in Bhutan last year, Hong Kong’s most lavish and diamond-studded wedding had to be the one between model-actress Cathy Tsui, 27, and billionaire heir Martin Lee, 38.
The couple, who has two daughters, married in December 2006.
Mr. Lee is the second son of Mr. Lee Shau Kee, the founder of Hong Kong’s multi-billion-dollar corporation Henderson Land Development.
According to Xinhua News, Mr. Lee and Cathy held their grand wedding in Sydney - a daytime ceremony at the Royal Botanic Gardens, followed by an evening banquet at the State Theatre.
The full-day affair allegedly cost the Lee family more than HK$100 million.
Then, there were rumours that the elder Mr. Lee had given Cathy’s parents two luxury apartments valued at more than $19 million each, plus a private jet worth more than HK$300 million to Mr. Lee and Cathy.
Cathy reportedly burst into tears of happiness during her wedding and said in her speech: ‘I am blessed! Heaven sent me such joy and gave me such a good husband.’
She was also quoted as saying that after marriage, she would be ‘involved in charity work to help the needy’.
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