Business May 4, 2021

Samsung windfall gives richest South Korean woman $7 billion fortune

Hong Ra-hee boosted her fortune after receiving billions of dollars in stocks in the much-awaited transfer of her husband’s assets.

Business / Corporate Mar 23, 2021

Japanese billionaire’s drab clothing firm becomes a sportswear sensation

Shares in Yoshio Tsuchiya’s Workman Co. have more than quadrupled since the start of 2018.

Business / Tech Feb 18, 2021

Automating boring tasks made these Japan startup founders rich

Their firms' shares have all more than doubled in the past year, leading to talk of a burgeoning tech scene that’s very different from Silicon Valley.

Business Dec 28, 2020

Billionaires of South Korea's beauty industry see fortunes reverse

Changes to women's daily routines amid the pandemic have halted the rising wealth of those who tapped the popularity of South Korean beauty brands in a deal-making frenzy.

Music Oct 20, 2020

BTS fans have a new way to show their love: buying shares

In the music industry, fans are everything. But when it comes to K-pop, that adage holds more true than ever.

Business / Tech Jun 11, 2020

Founder of software company who turned down SoftBank joins ranks of Japan’s billionaires

Masayoshi Son had offered to buy Shunji Sugaya’s business idea for $2.8 million.

Business Nov 8, 2019

Rich South Koreans seen handing kids millions to shield against estate taxes

Some are barely old enough to walk and talk, much less understand the stock market. But thanks to South Korea's tax laws, a growing number of children as young as 1 are sitting on shareholdings collectively worth millions of dollars. These rich kids are increasingly ...

Business Aug 1, 2019

Asian business bloodlines on brink as lack of heirs pushes owners into arms of private equity

After 37 years in business, Shigeru Nagatomi handed over the keys in December last year. Nagatomi Pharmacy Corp., the Kyushu medical supplies shop bearing his family name, had grown to 23 dispensing pharmacies in Oita Prefecture . Nagatomi had contemplated passing the company to his ...

Business Dec 21, 2018

Asia's megarich took a $137 billion hit in the pocketbook in 2018

The world's fastest growing source of megawealth hit a speed bump this year. The 128 people in Asia with enough money to crack the 500-member Bloomberg Billionaires Index lost a combined $137 billion in 2018, the first time wealth in the region has dropped since ...

Business / Corporate May 17, 2018

Bargain-hunting Chinese make Japanese retail king Bic Camera a billionaire

Japanese retail tycoon Ryuji Arai can thank a growing flock of Chinese spenders for his swelling fortune. Bic Camera Inc., the Tokyo-based consumer electronics retailer that sells everything from cosmetics to liquor at discounted prices, has become a sought-after destination for tourists shopping in Japan. ...