Earlier this year, we featured 22 Singaporeans who are listed in Forbes’ 2019 Billionaires List.
Today, we are featuring yet another batch of ‘crazy rich Asians’ from Bloomberg Billionaire Index (spoiler: there are two new entrants from the Forbes’ list).
It is a daily ranking of the world’s 500 richest people and their respective net worth analyses. The figures are updated at the close of every trading day in New York.
Bill Gates remain top of the pack as the world’s richest with a net worth of US$113 billion.
Amazon CEO and founder Jeff Bezos ranks a close second with US$112 billion, followed by Bernard Arnault, CEO and chairman of LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton SE, LVMH, the world’s largest luxury-goods company (US$104 billion).
Warren Buffett is named world’s fourth richest (US$88.9 billion), while Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg is the world’s fifth richest (US$78.7 billion).
Question is, who in Singapore has managed to join the prestigious ranks of these affluent people?
(The list and figures are accurate as of 24 December 2019)
#142 – Goh Cheng Liang, US$10.7B
Age: 92
- Goh gets the bulk of his wealth from his 39% stake in Japan’s Nippon Paint Holdings, the fourth largest paint manufacturer in the world
- He started making paints in a small factory in Singapore before partnering Nippon Paint in 1962
- Goh’s son, Hup Jin, became the chairman of Nippon Paint in March 2018 and also runs their privately-held joint venture Nipsea
#181 – Wee Cho Yaw, US$9.14B
Age: 89
- Wee is the chairman emeritus of United Overseas Bank (UOB). He stepped down as the bank’s chairman in 2013, and retired as director in April 2018.
- UOB was co-founded by his father Wee Khiang Cheng in 1935 as United Chinese Bank
- The Wee family also owns a property arm Kheng Leong — its portfolio includes 45 apartments in the Nassim area, a luxury condo which was acquired for US$290 million, among others
- The Wees also controls Haw Par, maker of the iconic Chinese ointment Tiger Balm
#189 – Li Xiting, US$8.73B
Age: 68
- Li is the chairman of Shenzhen Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics, a Chinese medical equipment maker
- His company earned a revenue of 13.6 billion yuan (S$2.6 billion) in 2018
- Its products, including patient monitoring and medical imaging devices, are found in almost 110,000 medical institutions around the world
#230 – Shu Ping, US$7.51B
Age: 49
- Shu Ping is the wife of fellow billionaire Zhang Yong, chairman of Chinese hot pot chain Haidilao
- Like her husband, Shu Ping is also now a citizen of Singapore
- Shu is the director and one of three co-founders of Haidilao, where she helps oversee the management and strategic development of the business
#232 – Zhang Yong, US$7.49B
Age: 48
- Zhang is known as China’s richest restaurateur, but he has since become a Singapore citizen
- He is the chairman of Sichuan hot pot chain Haidilao, which went public in September 2018
- The high school dropout didn’t even know how to prepare the typical Sichuan hot pot when he first started
- Haidilao became popular because of its spicy dishes and great customer service, which includes free manicures for waiting customers
- His 370 restaurants are located mostly in China, but also in the US, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore; and has generated US$10.4 billion in sales
#298 – Tan Kim Choo, US$6.32B
Age: Unknown
- Tan is wife of late property tycoon Ng Teng Fong, and the mother of fellow billionaires Philip and Robert Ng
- She is the largest shareholder of Far East Organization, Singapore’s largest private landlord and property developer
- It is calculated to have had revenue of US$4.5 billion in 2018 and has completed over 770 projects
- She also has stakes in beverage maker Yeo Hiap Seng and real estate developer Far East Orchard
#327 – Philip Ng, US$5.96B
Age: 61
#332 – Robert Ng, US$5.90B
Age: 67
- The real estate dynamic duo control Far East Organization, Singapore’s largest private landlord and property developer, which was founded by their father Ng Teng Fong
- Ng Teng Fong moved from China to Singapore in 1934 and was later dubbed as the “King of Orchard Road”
- Their Hong Kong arm, Sino Group, is overseen by older sibling Robert and his son Daryl, while Philip oversees the Singapore interests