
After earning an MBA from Columbia University, Peter Woo started his career at Chase Manhattan Bank in 1972. While living in New York, he met his wife, Bessie, the daughter of shipping tycoon Y.K. Pao. In 1975, he returned to Hong Kong to work for Worldwide Shipping Group, the Pao family business. There, he rose to the rank of vice chairman.
When his father-in-law died in 1986, Woo was placed in charge of the family’s real estate interests in the form of Wheelock & Co., which owns HK$520.4B (US$66.6B) worth of property in Mainland China and Hong Kong. Woo's son Douglas now serves in the chairmanship Peter relinquished in 2015.
In September, Wheelock got approval to spin off and separately list subsidiary Wharf Real Estate Investment Co., which invests in retail, office and hotel properties in Hong Kong. — Scott Klocksin
