Elusive Billionaire Draws Spotlight After Tragedy at Hong Kong Luxury Mansion

1. In early October, the death by apparent suicide of a 31-year-old Filipina domestic worker at a luxurious hilltop villa in Hong Kong’s Victoria Peak drew significant media attention. The tragedy’s location—an opulent mansion with historic connections—played a role, but public focus sharpened on the owner: Zhang Songqiao, an enigmatic tycoon with a substantial reputation in the Chinese and Hong Kong real estate worlds. The incident reignited scrutiny on Zhang’s personal history and accumulated wealth, especially as tabloids now refer to his mansion as the city’s “most expensive haunted house”[para. 1][para. 2][para. 3].

2. Zhang Songqiao, aged 61, is considered emblematic of China’s reform era success stories. He migrated from inland Chongqing to Hong Kong as a teenager, engaging in small-scale cross-border arbitrage—smuggling and reselling electronic watches from Hong Kong to mainland China for hefty profits in the mid-1980s. With savings and ambition, he transitioned into a major property entrepreneur, co-founding Zhongyu Development in 1992. His major gamble involved investing in Yubei, then an undeveloped suburb of Chongqing, where he and his partners would construct large-scale residential projects and infrastructure. Their first landmark project, California Garden, became Chongqing’s first modern high-end residential compound, with units quickly selling out at 1,700 yuan per square meter (approximately $200) in 1997[para. 4][para. 5][para. 6][para. 7][para. 8].

3. The timing of Zhang’s real estate efforts proved fortunate: in 1997, Chongqing was promoted to a centrally administered municipality, causing land values to soar. Over the following decade, his company developed over 1.2 million square meters of property, with investments exceeding 1.5 billion yuan. By 2006, seeking capital and broader reach, Zhang merged Zhongyu with a Hong Kong-listed shell company, rebranding it to C C Land Holdings Ltd. This move elevated him to billionaire status, with the Hurun property rich list in 2007 estimating his net worth at 16.4 billion yuan. By 2008, his firm controlled 10 million square meters in land reserves, earning Zhang the moniker “Southwest Property King”[para. 9][para. 10][para. 11][para. 12].

4. Zhang extended his influence into Hong Kong’s elite financial and social circles. His board seat at Qualipak International Holdings introduced him to Lam How Mun, a relative of tycoon Li Ka-shing, and granted entry into the exclusive “Big Two Club,” a networking group of the region’s most powerful property magnates, including Li Ka-shing and Joseph Lau. Zhang used insights from these circles to make shrewd real estate investments, such as acquiring and renovating mansions—most notably, purchasing 75 Peak Road (Ho Tung Gardens) in 2015 for HK$5.1 billion, the deal alone incurring a HK$1.2 billion stamp duty, the largest ever at the time[para. 13][para. 14][para. 15][para. 16].

5. As signs of instability emerged in China’s property sector by 2013, Zhang strategically scaled back his exposure, selling substantial assets in Chongqing and Chengdu to raise capital. Scandals involving his business partners also contributed to this shift. With significant liquidity, he eyed global markets, investing heavily in London real estate between 2016 and 2017, acquiring major assets such as the “Cheesegrater” skyscraper for 1.15 billion pounds, and participating in the redevelopment of Whiteleys shopping center[para. 17][para. 18][para. 19][para. 20].

6. However, Zhang’s British investments struggled amid Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic, and economic stagnation—cumulative factors that led to C C Land reporting nearly HK$4 billion in losses from U.K. property markdowns in 2022 and 2023. He sold or attempted to sell several London properties, but market conditions hindered recovery. As of 2021, Zhang shifted focus back to China, purchasing a record-priced plot in Chengdu and selectively acquiring distressed assets from failing Chinese developers. For instance, in February 2024, he agreed to take over Guangzhou R&F’s London skyscraper One Nine Elms for a nominal HK$1, in exchange for its $800 million bond obligations—highlighting his cautious, opportunistic return to familiar markets[para. 21][para. 22][para. 23][para. 24][para. 25].