10 Wealthiest People from Singapore

Singapore by Rogan Yeoh/Unsplash

10 Wealthiest People from Singapore

Singapore has little land and no natural resources. But after its independence in 1965, the former British colony was transformed into a major manufacturing and financial center.

The late conservative economist Milton Friedman described Singapore as an example of how to do development right.

The economy of Singapore is a highly developed free-market economy with dirigiste characteristics.

Singapore’s economy has been previously ranked as the most open in the world, the country relies on an extended concept of intermediary trade to entrepôt trade.

The Port of Singapore is now the world’s busiest transshipment port, surpassing Hong Kong and Rotterdam.

1. Li Xiting

Medical supplies by Marcelo Leal/Unsplash

Li Xiting is a Singapore citizen and the co-founder of the medical device manufacturer and distributor, Shenzhen Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics.

Li Xiting has a reported net worth of $24 billion, during Covid the company saw a 19% jump in net worth.

Founded in 1991, his company, Shenzhen Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics, makes health equipment and monitoring systems such as ventilators, defibrillators, and anesthesia machines.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, his company, Shenzhen Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics, saw a rise in its net worth.

Li holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Science and Technology of China, Li moved to Singapore and became a naturalized citizen in 2018.

2. Zhang Yong

Restaurant by Jason Leung/Unsplash

Zhang Yong is a Chinese-born Singaporean billionaire business magnate who is the founder of the Haidilao restaurant group, best known for its chain of hot pot restaurants.

Haidilao is renowned for its spicy dishes and attentive customer service, including offering free manicures for waiting customers.

Haidilao now has $3.8 billion in sales from 1,300 restaurants, mostly in China but also in the U.S., Japan, South Korea, and Singapore.

Zhang Yong, the billionaire founder of Chinese hotpot chain Haidilao, has stepped down as its chief executive officer he will remain as chairman and executive director.

Zhang is married to Shu Ping, a co-founder and non-executive director of Sichuan Haidilao Catering, and have a son together.

3. Goh Cheng Liang

Paint by David Pisnoy/Unsplash

Goh Cheng Liang is a Singaporean billionaire businessman who founded Wuthelam Holdings, which manufactures paint and coatings.

With a long career in paints and wall coatings, Goh Cheng Liang has helped countless people around the world decorate their homes.

In 2021, his son, Hup Jin, who chairs Nippon Paint, completed a $12 billion stock and cash deal that gave him a majority stake in Nippon.

Today, he owns the biggest yacht ever built by an Australian shipyard and has a fortune of about $18 billion.

Goh Cheng Liang is a very private person. He rarely gives any interviews and lives quite frugally.

4.Eduardo Luiz Saverin

Eduardo Luiz Saverin is a Brazilian billionaire entrepreneur and angel investor based in Singapore.

Singaporeans seem to have social networking under their skin, not just in a social, but also business context.

Saverin is one of the co-founders of Facebook, He co-founded Facebook with better-known entrepreneur and CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

The vast majority of his wealth is derived from the tech giant, even though he only owns 2% of the company.

Eduardo Saverin is currently the second richest resident of Singapore, he is married to Elaine Andriejanssen, an Indonesian national of Chinese descent.

5. Kwek Leng Beng

Kwek Leng Beng is a Singaporean billionaire businessman. He is the executive chairman of Hong Leong Group Singapore.

Kwek is also chairman of Millennium and Copthorne Hotels, a London-listed international hospitality group in which CDL owns a 53 percent stake.

Kwek’s son, Sherman, took charge as group CEO of City Developments in 2018 following a decade in various roles.

Kwek, who has won multiple awards and is the holder of a law degree, 2020, Mr. Kwek received on behalf of Hong Leong Group, the EY Family Business Award of Excellence.

6. Leo Koguan

Leo Koguan is an Indonesian-born Chinese American businessman, investor, and philanthropist.

He is the chairman and co-founder of SHI International Corp and is the third-largest individual shareholder in Tesla, Inc.

The Singapore-based Koguan isn’t your usual Musk fanboy, though he likes to refer to himself as such.

Koguan has a net worth of US$9.5 billion, according to Forbes, he made his fortune by founding SHI International, an IT provider which has over 20,000 customers like Boeing and AT&T.

At the start of the pandemic market chaos, he sold most of his stock holdings, including shares of Baidu and Nvidia, to buy long-term Tesla call options.

7. Wee Cho Yaw

Money by Dmitry Demidko/Unsplash

Wee Cho Yaw DUBC is a Singaporean billionaire businessman, and chairman emeritus and honorary adviser of the United Overseas Bank and United Industrial Corporation in Singapore.

Under Wee’s direction, UOB expanded its branch network in Singapore and internationally, and further diversified into commercial and industrial financing.

November 2011, Wee received the Darjah Utama Bakti Cemerlang, the highest National Day Award, from President Tony Tan Keng Yam.

After stepping down as the bank’s chairman in 2013, Wee retired as director in April 2018, a position he had held for six decades.

8. Forrest Li Xiaodong

Forrest Li Xiaodong is a Chinese-born Singaporean billionaire businessman. Li is married and lives in Singapore.

He is the founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Sea Limited, a company that consists of subsidiaries such as Garena and Shopee.

He is also the Chairman of Lion City Sailors FC, a subsidiary of Sea Limited. Li entered the ranks of Singapore’s richest, after listing Sea on the New York Stock Exchange.

During the pandemic, many tech giants, including Sea, benefitted as most people turned towards online shopping and gaming.

9. Kuok Khoon Hong

Kuok Khoon Hong is a Singaporean business magnate, entrepreneur, and philanthropist, he is the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Wilmar International.

The business soon expanded to India and China, and Wilmar cemented its leadership position within Asia’s largest consumer edible oil markets.

Kuok co-owns the Aviva Tower in London with Indonesian billionaire and Wilmar cofounder Martua Sitorus.

In May 2020, Kuok and Wilmar donated a total of SG$7 million to The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund.

10. Gang Ye

Gang Ye is our co-founder and has been a member of the board of directors of our company since March 2010.

Gang Ye cofounded online gaming and e-commerce firm, Sea, with Forrest Li, he became Singapore’s latest billionaire after the company’s mobile game.

Gang holds B.S. degrees in Computer Science and Economics from Carnegie Mellon University.