Nina Wang
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Nina Wang or Kung Ru Xin (Chinese: 龔如心, pinyin: Gŏng Rúxīn) (b. 1937) is Asia's richest woman, with an estimated net worth of almost $4 billion. She was born in Shanghai in 1937 and in 1955 she married Teddy Wang, whom she had dated since 1948 (when she was 11). The couple moved to Hong Kong, where Teddy established the Chinachem Group, a pharmaceutical company that eventually became one of Hong Kong's largest and most powerful companies. Nicknamed "Little Sweetie" (小甜甜）in Cantonese, she is noted for her two pigtails.
On April 12, 1983, the couple's 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. After 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 3 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. 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 was in Chinese.
In 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.
The Wang story captivated Hong Kong and attracted great media attention because of its mix of money, sex and deceit.
References
- Wang's Legacy: Sex, Lies And Litigation (http://www.forbes.com/2002/11/22/cz_dd_1122wang_print.html), Forbes Magazine, Nov. 2002.
- PROBATE ACTION NO.8 OF 1999 (http://www.smlawpub.com.hk/ljas/cases/2002/nov/AJ899/AJ899.htm)