By Choi Sung-jin
Five South Koreans are on the list of the 400 richest people in the world, announced by Bloomberg Monday.
The combined assets of the five, including Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee and Chairman Suh Kyung-bae of Amore Pacific, amounted to 40 trillion won ($34.6 billion), exceeding North Korea's gross domestic product last year.
Also on Bloomberg's billionaire list are Lee Jay-yong, Chung Mong-koo and Chey Tae-won, who are running Samsung Electronics, Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group and SK Group, respectively.
The five Koreans' total worth, including stock and cash, reached 40.17 trillion won, 18.3 percent more than North Korea's nominal GDP of 33.94 trillion won in 2014, as seen in Statistics Korea's data. Their assets also accounted for 2.7 percent of South Korea's GDP.
Lee Kun-hee was Korea's richest man, and the world's 81st richest, whose worth was tallied at $11.9 billion. The U.S. business news service said it is enough to buy 30,000 458 Spiders, Ferrari's latest sports car. His assets fell 9.6 percent this year because of declines in the stock prices of the group's subsidiaries.
Runner-up Suh (139th in the world) saw his assets grow a hefty 55.7 percent to $8.5 billion, thanks to explosive sales recorded by his cosmetics company, particularly in China and other overseas markets.
Five South Koreans are on the list of the 400 richest people in the world, announced by Bloomberg Monday.
The combined assets of the five, including Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee and Chairman Suh Kyung-bae of Amore Pacific, amounted to 40 trillion won ($34.6 billion), exceeding North Korea's gross domestic product last year.
Also on Bloomberg's billionaire list are Lee Jay-yong, Chung Mong-koo and Chey Tae-won, who are running Samsung Electronics, Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group and SK Group, respectively.
The five Koreans' total worth, including stock and cash, reached 40.17 trillion won, 18.3 percent more than North Korea's nominal GDP of 33.94 trillion won in 2014, as seen in Statistics Korea's data. Their assets also accounted for 2.7 percent of South Korea's GDP.
Lee Kun-hee was Korea's richest man, and the world's 81st richest, whose worth was tallied at $11.9 billion. The U.S. business news service said it is enough to buy 30,000 458 Spiders, Ferrari's latest sports car. His assets fell 9.6 percent this year because of declines in the stock prices of the group's subsidiaries.
Runner-up Suh (139th in the world) saw his assets grow a hefty 55.7 percent to $8.5 billion, thanks to explosive sales recorded by his cosmetics company, particularly in China and other overseas markets.
