Kenneth Fang – ‘King of Textiles’

HF: Dr Kenneth Fang Hung (30th November 1938-28th August 2022) was a Hong Kong billionaire industrialist and philanthropist. He was known as the ”King of Textiles”.

Fang was born on 20th November 1938 in Xiaohai Town, Nantong City, Jiangsu Province. He lived in Hong Kong from the 1950s onward.

The Fang family with roots in Haimen, Wantong, Jiangsu, China has long had a prominent position in Hong Kong. They are deemed by Forbes as ‘the largest amongst the dozen or so families that dominate Asia’s textile industry. Fang’s father, Fang Shui Chow made his first fortune in the yarn trade in Shanghai.

In the 1960s, Fang joined his father’s textile making business, S.C.Fang & Sons, for one year. Fang’s family was one of the largest holders under the textile quota system, which was in place throughout the second half of the 20th century and abolished in 2005.

Fang was best known for founding Fang Brothers Knitting Limited in 1965, which was the world’s largest producer of knitwear and garments throughout the second half of the 20th century and remains one of the largest.

After shopping at name brand department stores Jordan Marsh and Filene’s during his studies at MIT, he saw the demand for simply constructed sweaters, which led him to manufacture on a private label basis.

As of 2002 Fang Brothers Knitting operated 25 factories in mainland China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, Mexico, Honduras, the United States and the United Kingdom; employed over 25,000 workers; and produced over 30 million pieces of high quality knitwear annually.

Source: Wikipedia
This article was first posted on 4th November 2025.
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