- Category:
- Richest Business › Richest Billionaires
- Net Worth:
- $2.7 Billion
What is Silas Chou's Net Worth?
Silas Chou is a Hong Kong businessman who has a net worth of $3 billion. Though Silas Chou was born into wealth, he also earned a vast fortune on his own thanks some very wise investments in a number of fashion brands. His biggest success was an investment made with business partner Lawrence Stroll in 1989. That investment bought them majority control of a little-known fashion brand called Tommy Hilfiger. Hilfiger would go on to become enormously successful in the 1990s and early 2000s. Silas and Lawrence took Hilfiger public in 1992 and then sold the business a decade later. In the meantime, through their company Capri Holdings, they acquired or invested in additional fashion brands such as Michael Kors and Karl Lagerfeld.
Early Life
Silas Chou's father Chao Kuang-piu was the billionaire founder of South Ocean Knitters, which grew to be one of the largest manufacturers and exporters of knitwear in Asia.
Through his father, in the 1980s Silas met an up-and-coming fashion entrepreneur named Lawrence Stroll.
Sportswear Holdings
In 1989, Silas and Lawrence decided to become partners and soon launched their own fashion investment vehicle which they named Sportswear Holdings.
The duo soon were introduced to a fledgling fashion designer named Tommy Hilfiger. In their very first year of operation, Chou and Stroll made the wise decision to buy majority control of Tommy Hilfiger.
Over the next two decades, the two guided Hilfiger as the brand experienced a meteoric rise in popularity, eventually becoming one of the most popular fashion brands in the world. The brand's preppy, all-American style resonated with consumers and helped to establish the brand as a symbol of the era's youth culture. Hilfiger's sales grew rapidly during this period, reaching $25 million in 1992, $70 million in 1993, and over $100 million in 1994. By the end of the decade, the brand's annual revenue had surpassed $1 billion, making it one of the most successful fashion brands in history. In 2000, Tommy Hilfiger's revenue came in just under $2 billion.
Lawrence and Silas took the company public in 1992. In 2006 the company was sold to Apax Partners for $1.6 billion.
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Capri Holdings
Stroll and Chou parlayed this success into investments in brands like Karl Lagerfeld, Pepe Jeans, and Michael Kors.
In 2002, Lawrence Stroll and Silas Chou signed a lease with Donald Trump for the first three floors of the corner of Trump Tower. They used that real estate to open up Asprey & Garrard's New York store in 2003. They acquired a majority share of Michael Kors in 2003 for $100 million.
Chou and Stroll oversaw the successful 2011 IPO of Michael Kors and by 2014. In 2017, Michael Kors Holdings acquired Jimmy Choo for a shade under $1 billion. In September 2018 it was announced that the company was acquiring fashion house Versace for $2.1 billion. With the acquisition, Michael Kors Holdings was renamed Capri Holdings.
Today Capri generates around $5.5 billion in global revenue.
Racing Investments
Silas' partner Lawrence is an avid collector of sports cars and racing in general. Lawrence's personal car collection is worth well over $100 million. In 2018 Silas was one of Lawrence's investors when he bought the racing team Force India to form Racing Point F1 India.
Aston Martin
In January 2020 Silas was a minority partner when Lawrence Stroll acquired 17% of the car company Aston Martin.
