Stanley Ho, the billionaire casino mogul and property developer, once said he would quit Hong Kong if Leung Chun-ying became the city’s chief executive. Mr Leung, he said, “hates the rich”.
Now Mr Ho’s nightmare has come true. An election committee of 1,200 members, many taking their cue from Beijing, has made Mr Leung Hong Kong’s next leader.
Mr Leung, the son of a policeman, has pledged to make housing more affordable and to narrow what World Bank figures show is the worst income disparity among all developed economies. His “populist” agenda has prompted fear among the city’s tycoons that he could crimp their ability to make money and damage Hong Kong’s reputation as a financial centre with low taxes and a laisser-faire economic philosophy.