[THE INVESTOR] The local pet market -- or “petconomy”-- is growing, and along with it, the pets of the superrich are rising to the spotlight.

Korea’s pet superstars of the superrich include two famous poodles called Mari and Molly owned by Chung Young-jin, the vice chairman and CEO of the Shinsegae Group, Korea’s largest retailer.

The two poodles rose to popularity when Mari was first featured as a model for a pet food brand under Shinsegae’s discount retailer E-mart. In 2010, when Mari was obese and in need of weight control, the poodle was chosen to promote weight-controlling food by m.m Dogs, E-mart’s private food label for dogs. Soon after, CEO Chung’s other poodle also appeared as a model for a pet brand.

Furthermore, a pet chain shop owned by CEO Chung -- who has a net worth of $945 million -- is named after Molly.

Molly’s Pet Shop, a chain store with 27 branches across the nation, sells items such as pet food and toys, and also provides services such as a hotel and salon for animals. It is also known among animal lovers for taking care of abandoned dogs. 

Pet superstars can also be found outside of Korea. For instance, the white feline Choupette Lagerfeld owned by Karl Lagerfeld who has a net worth of $125 million and is the head of design and creative director at French luxury brand Chanel.

Choupette is also a famous commercial model who has modeled for German automobile manufacturer Vauxhall Corsa and high-end Japanese cosmetics brand Shu Uemura.

It earned $4 million in 2014. The cat even has two maids to attend to it and they carry out tasks such as brushing its hair and manicuring its nails. They also take note of its daily activities, including its mood, health and food intake.

Furthermore, Choupette has an Instagram account with over 79,000 followers.

Hollywood celebrity and businesswoman Paris Hilton, who has a current net worth of $100 million, is also known for her love for animals. 

She revealed in 2013 that she owned 35 pets. However, her pet Chihuahua Peter Pan Hilton gets special treatment as it gets to follow Paris everywhere she goes daily. Due to these outings, the dog has became a social media celebrity, with a personal Instagram account that has over 36,000 followers.

Meanwhile, Paris’ two Pomeranian dogs Prince Hilton and Princess Paris Junior Hilton each have Twitter accounts with over 90,000 and 40,000 followers, respectively. 

By The Korea Herald Superrich Team (seoyounglee@heraldcorp.com)