Li CHEUNG KONG HOLDINGS/HUTCHISON WHAMPOA

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Still, little is known about the heir apparent. "There hasn't been a huge amount of visibility into ... what he's doing," notes Steven Li, an analyst at J.P. Morgan. The biggest worry is that Victor might lack his father's flair for sniffing out deals. Li is called Superman in Hong Kong. Victor is called "enigmatic" and "nondescript" by analysts. Lately, though, he seems to be coming out of his shell. In November, Victor, a Canadian citizen, won control of Air Canada with a $500 million bid--his first major foray outside the family businesses. Unions, however, resisted Victor's push to overhaul the airline's pension plan, so he pulled back. That's the kind of reasoned decision making that could earn him his CEO wings.

Victor's brother Richard, 37, went his own way 14 years ago. He lives in a town house near Hong Kong's Victoria Peak, a superwealthy enclave, zips around Victoria Harbour in two 60-ft. yachts and has kept tabloids busy with his amorous liaisons. In 2001 Richard was embarrassed when his telecom, Pacific Century CyberWorks (PCCW), was forced to admit he had never graduated from Stanford, as the firm's website claimed.

What Victor might lack--entrepreneurial sass--Richard has in spades. Richard founded Asian satellite broadcaster Star TV in 1990, selling it three years later to News Corp. for a $725 million profit. But his initiatives have been a source of trouble too. In 2000 Richard deftly used PCCW's inflated stock to buy Hong Kong's dominant phone company for $28 billion. But his vision of transforming the staid blue chip into the world's largest broadband Internet business went kaput with the tech bubble. After toppling 97% from its peak, PCCW's stock recovered, but Richard's reputation lay in tatters. Indeed, the hit Cantonese movie Golden Chicken featured an embittered prostitute watching Richard's stumbling explanation on TV and yelling "Shut up before you can remember what you want to say! I've lost everything on your stock!" Though Richard remains chairman of PCCW, last July he turned over the top job to the former CEO of Hong Kong's subway system. But the PCCW saga hasn't dulled Richard's love of deals. Last year he partnered with investment fund Ripplewood in its takeover of Japan Telecom. And PCCW, its debt reduced by two-thirds since 2000, intends to expand again, with plans to launch wireless broadband services in Britain by midyear.

Both sons still have time for practice at empire building. Li insists he will not retire anytime soon. "I am busy at work, as always," he said last year. With shares in Hutchison and Cheung Kong climbing sharply in recent months, investors won't mind if the two boys wait in the wings a while longer and observe the ways of the grand master of Asian business. --By Michael Schuman. With reporting by Kate Drake/Hong Kong