Mirror Mirror On The Wall, Who's The Richest Of Them All?
Do you know who the richest person in Malaysia is? Check out this list of Top 10 Richest Malaysians and the source(s) of their wealth.
By Melody Oei — 04 Dec 2013, 03:57 PM — Updated over 10 years ago
10. 61-Year-Old Tan Sri Dato Seri Vincent Tan: RM3.97 Billion
Tan Sri Dato Seri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun wasn’t born a millionaire, but he sure is enjoying his success. At the prime age of 61 years old, this moustached wonder is the current owner of Cardiff City F.C. For those who are not in the business loop may not know his name, but will definitely recognize the brands under the Berjaya Group. Starbucks and Krispy Kreme, anyone?
In 2010, Vincent Tan entered the Forbes billionaire list with an estimated worth of US$1.3 billion (RM4.2 billion). Tan's success in the Malaysian business sector has been attributed in part to his close association with prominent Malay political figures.
Image via football365.comMAIN COMPANY: Berjaya Group
9. 61-Year-Old Tan Sri Datuk Sir Tiong Hiew King: RM5.4 Billion (As At July 2012)
Tan Sri Datuk Sir Hiew king Tiong is the Malaysian Chinese founder and chairman of the Rimbunan Hijau Group, a timber company founded in 1975. His timber operation also runs all the way in Papua New Guinea. Tan Sri is also quite the media mogul; Tiong’s Rimbunan Hijau Group controls Sin Chew Jit Poh and Guang Ming Daily, two of the major Chinese national dailies in Malaysia.
With a net worth of about US$1.1 billion, Tiong is ranked by Forbes as the 840th richest person in the world.
Image via forbes.comMAIN COMPANY: RIMBUNAN HIJAU GROUP
rhg.com.my8. 61-Year-Old Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary: RM8.25 Billion
Through the Al-Bukhary Foundation, Tan Sri Syed Mohtar Albukhary is the eighth richest and the top richest bumiputra in Malaysia. His net worth is estimated to be around 8.25 billion, and in December his new telecom, Puncak Semangat, beat out big players such as Maxis to snatch biggest slice of spectrum for 4G services.
With involvement in diversified business areas which include transportation and logistics, plantations, property development, defense and armory as well as engineering and power generation, Syed Mokhtar has a net worth estimated to be US$2.75 billion according to Forbes, making him the 8th richest Malaysian.
Image via forbes.comMAIN COMPANY: Albukhary Foundation
albukharyfoundation.org7. 83-Year-Old Tan Sri Dato' Seri Dr. Yeoh Tiong Lay: RM8.75 Billion
In Malaysia, almost everyone has heard of the YTL Empire. However, we are more mesmerized by his unique 3,000 square meter mansion. The YTL residence includes nine bathrooms, two family rooms, a family kitchen and private dining area, to name a few.
YTL is based primarily in Malaysia but has extensive operations in Asia, Australia and the United Kingdom, where it owns the utility Wessex Water. YTL Corp has over $3 billion in cash.
Image via forbes.comMAIN COMPANY: YTL Corporation Berhad
6. 74-Year-Old Tan Sri Lee Shin Cheng: RM13.5 Billion
Lee Shin Cheng is well known as the executive chairman of IOI Corporation Berhad (or better known as IOI Group). In 2008, he quoted that the happiest day of his life was when he acquired the Dunlop Estate. When asked why, he told quite an interesting story. The reason he bought the Dunlop Estate is because in the late 1960′s, the young Lee Shin Cheng applied for a job at Dunlop but was rejected. We suppose revenge is indeed sweet for this self-made billionaire.
Lee Shin Cheng heads IOI Corporation Berhad (or better known as IOI Group) as its executive chairman. IOI Group was by Forbes in 2012 a palm oil and real estate development giant. It owned refineries in the U.S. and the Netherlands and won a $322 million bid for a 6-acre plot in downtown Singapore for the residential buildings.
Image via tokobakso.comMAIN COMPANY: IOI Group
5. 70-Year-Old YBhg Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan: RM14.4 Billion
YBhg Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan was originally a Barrister-at-Law from Middle Temple, United Kingdom. We guess law was not as fulfilling for this billionaire, because he has extensive business experience in various sectors including financial services, manufacturing and real estate. Now, he is most famous for being the Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Hong Leong Company,
YBhg Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan studied in Victoria School in Singapore and is qualified as a Barrister-at-Law from Middle Temple, United Kingdom. He has extensive business experience in various sectors, including financial services, manufacturing and real estate.
Image via forbes.comMAIN COMPANY: Hong Leong Group
hongleong.com4. 83-Year-Old Tan Sri Teh Hong Piow: RM16.8 Billion
Tan Sri Teh Hong Piow is the epitome of success in our book. He began his banking career in 1950 as a Bank clerk in Overseas-Chinese Banking Corporation Ltd. and rose in rank to officer within five years. Later on, he joined Malayan Banking Berhad as Manager in 1960, and promoted to the General Manager at the young age of 34.
One of Malaysia's wealthiest businessmen, Teh Hong Piow obtained three degrees at the unaccredited Pacific Western University and two PhDs at Clayton University (also unaccredited) and University Malaya.
Image via internationalbusinessreview.netMAIN COMPANY: Public Bank
pbebank.com
3. 62-Year-Old Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay And Family: RM19.8 Billion
Lim Kok Thay is the son of late casino magnate Lim Goh Tong, also known as the founder of the Genting Group. Need we say more?
Tan sri Lim Kok Thay holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from University of London, United Kingdom. He attended the advanced management programme of Harvard Business School, Harvard University, USA in 1979.
Image via netdna-cdn.comMAIN COMPANY: Genting
genting.com2. 75-Year-Old Tan Sri T Ananda Krishnan: RM35.1 Billion
Tan Sri Tatparanandam Ananda Krishnan is a Malaysian businessman and philanthropist of Sri Lankan Tamil origin. Nicknamed A-K, his net worth makes him the second wealthiest in Southeast Asia behind his pal Robert Kuok.
Ananda Krishnan was born in 1938 in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur's to Tamil parents, who were Sri Lankans origin. He studied at Vivekananda Tamil School in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur and furthered his studies at Victoria Institution, Kuala Lumpur. Later, as a Colombo Plan scholar, he attended the University of Melbourne, Australia for his B.A. (Honours) degree majoring in political science.
Image via bloomberg.comMAIN COMPANY: Usaha Tegas
1. 90-Year-Old Tan Sri Robert Kuok Hock Nien: RM37.5 Billion
Despite his wealth, Kuok’s life remains private. He is even described as someone who is media-shy and most of his businesses are privately held by him or his family. His business interests range from sugar cane plantations (Perlis Plantations Bhd), sugar refineries, flour milling, animal feed, oil, mining, finance, hotels, properties, trading, freight and publishing. As of now, the biggest source of wealth is stake in Wilmar International, the world’s largest listed palm oil company.
Kuok has married twice and has eight children. His fourth eldest son, which he passed on to be the holder of Shangri-la Hotels Jeffrey Ong Teng Buey married twice. He has three sons, Justin Choo Jia Wei, Bryan Choo Jia Jun and Jon Choo Jia Sheng. Kuok officially retired from the Kerry Group on 1 April 1993. One of his sons, Kuok Khoon Ean, now handles most of the day-to-day operations of his businesses. He currently resides in Hong Kong.
Image via asiaone.comMAIN COMPANY: Kuok Group
kuokgroup.com.sg