He is easily the greatest and bestest daddy on planet Earth, and who wouldn’t want such a nice father after spending such huge money on diamonds for his daughter? Property tycoon Joseph Lau Luen Hung (Chinese: 劉鑾雄) raised US$77 million eyebrows when he bought two expensive rocks at Christie’s and Sotheby’s auctions.
First, he spent a cool US$28.5 million (£18.7 million; RM124.8 million) buying a rare 16.08-carat pink diamond – the largest of its kind to ever go under the hammer – from auction house Christie’s, which he renamed “Sweet Josephine”, after his 7-year-old daughter Josephine. But his shopping spree didn’t stop there.
The next day on Wednesday, the Hong Kong billionaire went to auction house Sotheby’s and bought another rock, another rare 12.03-carat “Blue Moon” diamond for a record US$48.5 million (£31.8 million; RM212.4 million) and immediately renamed it “Blue Moon of Josephine”. The lucky Josephine now owns two new precious toys worth US$77 million.
David Bennett, the head of Sotheby’s international jewellery division, said the “Blue Moon” sale broke several records and made the gemstone the most expensive diamond, regardless of colour, and the most expensive jewel ever sold at auction, not to mention the highest-ever price per carat – more than US$4 million per carat.
The previous record was held by the 24.78-carat “Graff Pink” diamond, which was sold by Sotheby’s for US$46.2 million in November 2010. The 64-year-old tycoon, valued at US$10.3 billion by Forbes, is the world’s #114 and Hong Kong’s #6 richest man. But this is not the first time Mr Joseph Lau has gone bonkers snapping expensive rocks.
In 2009, he spent US$9.5 million on another blue diamond, which he renamed the “Star of Josephine”. Interestingly, Josephine is his youngest daughter with present girlfriend and former assistant Chan Hoi-wan (Kimbie Chan), who was also a former entertainment reporter. They also have another 3-year-old son.
In Nov 2014, Joseph bought two gems for another 13-year-old daughter Zoe. A 9.75-carat blue diamond was named “Zoe Diamond” after spending about US$33 million at a Sotheby’s auction in New York. He also bought a Cartier 10.1-carat ruby and diamond brooch at a Christie’s Hong Kong auction, burning HK$65 million (US$8.4 million). He named that one “Zoe Red.”
Joseph Lau has also fathered another four children with two other women, his former partner, Yvonne Lui, and ex-wife Bo Wing-kam. Coincidently, the tycoon fathered a son and a daughter with each of his three partners. So far, there’s no report that his eldest daughter Jade Lau Sau-yung was pampered with any mind-boggling expensive gems.
His name sent tremors not only at auction house but also in the property industry as well. Less than 24-hour after he splashed US$48.5 million on the “Blue Moon” diamond, Joseph Lau’s company – Chinese Estates Holdings Ltd – sold a 26-story Mass Mutual Tower in Hong Kong’s Wan Chai district for HK$12.5 billion (US$2.25 billion; £1.48 billion; RM9.85 billion).
Before the sale to Chinese developer Evergrande Real Estate Group Ltd., Mr Joseph bought the tower in 1987 for merely HK$460 million, a ROI (return on investment) of 27 times. This was his third property sale to the same Chinese developer. In July, it sold a residential, commercial and hotel complex in the western Chinese city of Chengdu for HK$6.5 billion, and another property in nearby Chongqing for HK$1.75 billion.
On May 12 he picked up Roy Lichtenstein’s painting “The Ring (Engagement)” at Sotheby’s New York auction for US$41.7 million, just a day after purchasing Pablo Picasso’s “Buste de femme” across town at Christie’s for US$67.4 million. Mr. Lau also owns one of the world’s finest red wine collections, with at least 10,000 bottles.
By switching to top gears in snapping up collectible items of paintings and diamonds but getting rid of big and hard to move real estates, rumours are flying that billionaire Joseph Lau could be preparing for the worse after he was convicted last year by a Macau court of bribery and money laundering and sentenced to more than five years in prison.
Fortunately, Mr. Lau, who didn’t attend the trial, has remained free by avoiding travel to the former Portuguese colony. Although both Hong Kong and Macau are specially administered Chinese regions, both semi-autonomous Chinese cities do not have an extradition agreement. He has resigned as chairman and CEO of his empire and replaced by his own son Lau Ming-wai.
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November 13th, 2015 by financetwitter
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“Greatest Daddy – US$77 Million Blue & Pink Diamonds For 7-Year-Old Josephine”
Watch the video – http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/switzerland/11990160/Blue-Moon-Diamond-sells-for-world-record-32-million.html
Another Great article on Joseph Lau Luen Hung, a billionaire Hong Kong real estate investor who owns a 61% stake in Chinese Estates Holdings. His fortune is estimated by Forbes at $11.5 billion as of June 2015…
In May 2007, Lau was revealed to be among the first seven purchasers of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner jet for private use…”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Lau
“…Well, looking at what is up next for auction at Christie’s we find that the the June 16th “Important Jewels” auction in New York has several items that would entice even the most obtuse money launderers.
Well, just purchase the $2,000,000 sapphire ring (lot 232), the $2,000,000 art deco diamond pendant (lot 227), and the $600,000 diamond ring (lot 231) and you’re pretty darn close to $5 million right there (bidding wars are your friend because it drives up the value at the next auction).
Now that you have your fine jewels and you have put them on the fingers and neck of yourself or your loved one, you need to then charter a private jet to fly you to Hong Kong, because really, who wants to wait in the TSA line like a commoner and then go through regular customs like some poor schlub? Not you, you’re an important criminal!
Now that you are in Hong Kong you need to turn these gems into cash. Well, just head to one of the offices of Sotheby’s, Christie’s, or Bonham’s in Hong Kong and put the same pieces of jewelry back up for auction! The auction houses don’t care so long as they get their commission, and the fact that these items sold recently for an extravagant amount of money means that their perceived wealth is already fresh in bidders’ minds…
People don’t realize this, but there is more wealth tied up in just diamonds alone than all of the stock markets combined.
Not every family owns stock, but almost every family (at least in the first world) owns a diamond.
Jewels have been a way of obtaining and moving wealth for thousands of years.
The Maharaja in India, the crown Jewels of England, the entire reason everyone and their mother has tried to invade and control Burma for the past several centuries, all has to do with maintaining and creating wealth via pretty things.
If someone has the jewels, you need to get the jewels. If you need cash, you either sell them or pawn them, and I don’t care how rich you are; if you need to put a million dollar ruby up as collateral on a loan you just pawned the sucker.”
http://noospheregeologic.com/blog/tag/christies/
You be the judge.