(Newswire.net — April 11, 2020) — Business organizations change ownership for various reasons, with the most popular being an acquisition by an individual or organization. While such transactions can be public knowledge throughout the change process, in some instances, it comes as a shock to many. Organizations changing ownership can have both a positive and negative effect on a particular company. Devansh Pathak, in his article “Hong Kong in for a Surprise as Homegrown Billionaire Secretly Acquires Taiwan’s Landmark Property,” examines the change of ownership for one of Asia’s premier luxury hotels which is a crucial contributor to the economy of the region. The acquisition represents one of many where little known billionaires come out into the limelight with such transactions, catching the interest of many. Calvin Lo’s purchase of the Mandarin Oriental Taipei for US$1.24 billion in September of 2019 took Taiwan by surprise, showing how underground billionaires operate despite them being vital contributors to the economy in any country.
Some billionaires have no problem having the limelight always shining on them. Examples of such billionaires include the likes of Jack Ma and Li Ka Shing, who have contributed to both the Asian market and some of the world’s economy. The situation is not the same with individuals such as Lo, whose fortunes have avoided the public eye for many years. The avoidance of the public limelight is attributed mainly to running his companies privately as well as little to no public records (Moeez, n.d, n.pag). Such low-profile billionaires have companies that are vital to the economies in the countries. For instance, Lo is the heir of a business empire that operates one of the largest life insurance brokerage companies in the world, R.E. Lee International, with annual premiums close to US$1 billion. The company serves the extreme ultra high networth individuals in the world (Moeez, n.d, n.pag). From the personal point of view, Lo, too, is a billionaire on his own with a net worth of US$1.7 billion. Wealth rankings in any platform have never feature Lo despite being one of the wealthiest individuals in Asia (Moeez, n.d, n.pag) as he actively try to shy away from it. The recent purchase of the Mandarin Oriental Taipei unveiled the billionaire behind the purchase of the property.
The idea behind the purchase of the Mandarin Oriental Taipei by Lo can be viewed as a diversification of the individual’s interest in new avenues. Before the purchase of the hotel, Lo was known to be one of the major players of the life insurance industry in Asia as well as estate and wealth planning (Pathak, 2019, n.pag). The purchase of the hotel represents the interest of such billionaires to expand into other sectors of the economy. Lo’s acquisition of the hotel will mean that additional funding will be available to the organization, thus the level of competition in the hospitality industry in Taiwan is set to increase with the introduction of a new player in the sector.
In summary, some billionaires operate away from the public eye and only come to be known by certain business transactions. An example of such a situation is the purchase of the Mandarin Oriental Taipei hotel by Lo, giving the little known billionaire a rare view from the public’s perspective. Formerly known for a significant player in the life insurance industry, the purchase of the hotel represents an increased interest in other sectors of the economy. The additional investment into the economy represents an increased level of competition in the industry.