Auction 76 Tas Hermes, Hong Kong Billionaire Joseph Lau Raup Rp48 Billion

JAKARTA - Hong Kong billionaire Joseph Lau has sold dozens of bags, most of which are Hermes bags for $ 25.2 million, or around Rp. 48,709,646,294 in an auction held by Sotheby's.

Named as the first part of Joseph Lau's visionary collection, the event is the sale of handbags by the largest single owner in the Asian auction market.

Part of the proceeds from the sale will be donated to charities, the auction house said, without specifying what the percentage will be.

The sale includes 76 Hermes bags and one bag from Chanel, as reported by The National News from Bloomberg on February 9.

Among the items sold were six Birkins diamonds and Kelly's extremely rare metallic bronze.

The most expensive is Bleu Jean Shiny Porosus Crocodile Birkin 25 with 18-karat white gold and diamond in 2006, which sold for $1.52 million, according to auction results published on the Sotheby's website.

The 71-year-old Taipan is known to have purchased more than 1,500 Hermes bags as gifts, while his family still has more than 1,000 Hermes bags, a tycoon said via WhatsApp, citing several sources.

Lau, former chairman of Hong Kong developer Chinese Estates Holdings, is a well-known collector and seller in the auction world.

In addition to a collection of luxury bags, he bought his daughter a 12-carat blue diamond for 48.6 million Swiss francs (52.9 million US dollars) in 2015, a record at the time.

Lau also has famous paintings including Andy Warhol's 'Mao' and Jean-Michel Basquiat's 'Everything Must Go', which will be exhibited at his art gallery in London.

It is known, he has released various collections since early 2020 with a value of around US$177 million, including David Hockney's paintings, Chinese antiques and wine, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Lau has a net worth of about $6 billion, down $2 billion since the second half of 2021, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

His wealth comes largely from his and his family's holdings on commercial property and shares in Chinese Estates.

His decline in net worth was driven by a prolonged property crisis in mainland China and lower property assessments in Hong Kong.

Lau himself was convicted of bribery and money laundering in Macau in 2014, but has never served a prison sentence for no extradition treaty between the region and Hong Kong.