Meet the Hong Kong billionaires behind some of the world's glitziest hotels — and the generation who could inherit the empire

Adrian Cheng makes a toast during dinner after the opening ceremony of the Festival de Cannes Film Week in Asia in 2019.Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images for Festival de Cannes Film Week in Asia

• Cheng Yu-Teng's family is one of the richest in Hong Kong, with a property empire larger than Central Park.
• The family also owns the Carlyle, the glitzy New York City hotel that's tied to the Met Gala.

The Cheng family is one of Hong Kong's most prominent and richest families, owning billions in property and a bustling jewelry business that's a household name in Asia.

Bloomberg estimated their net worth to be $22.7 billion in March, though it's since fallen to $17.7 billion in September.

The family's company, New World Development, oversees about 41.5 million square feet of property — more than all of Central Park — in Hong Kong, Asia's most expensive city for real estate.

The Cheng clan revolves around the families of two brothers, though the elder and his children have long been considered the main force in the business.

As he nears 80, the family patriarch is expected to name a successor. But he's been coy so far with his plans, and rumors of a possible family feud abound in Hong Kong.

Here's what you need to know about the Chengs, a family whose massive wealth is rooted in the city's early days: