Revealed: Family fortunes of top Korean celebrities

Cha In-pyo

Yun Tae-yong

Actor Cha In-pyo is the richest beneficiary of his parents’ wealth.

The star’s background was revealed on tvN show “The List 2015,” which introduced the top eight Korean celebrities born with a “silver spoon in their mouths.”

The program said Cha’s father had established a shipping company in 1974 that recorded exports of $300 billion and was once fourth largest in the nation.

Cha was followed by chef-entertainer Baek Jong-won, thanks to his grandfather whose legendary feats in educational businesses across central South Chungcheong Province had been acknowledged by the Korean government.

The list also included actor Yun Tae-yong, who inherited some 45 billion won ($38 million) from his father, who was vice-chairman of Samsung Electronics; singer Roy Kim, a son of the chairman of one of the nation’s biggest rice wine breweries; and actor Cho Jae-hyun, whose father’s fortune started from a briquette and gasoline store.