Kwek Leng Beng family net worth rises to S$16.1 billion, narrows gap with richest Singapore billionaire
Singapore's five richest billionaires saw their combined net worth fall 7% to US$90.6 billion as the wealthiest man, Eduardo Saverin, lost US$10.1 billion. Kwek Leng Beng and family retained second place with US$16.1 billion, reducing the gap with Saverin to US$16.8 billion from US$28.7 billion last
Singapore's five richest billionaires saw their combined net worth fall roughly 7% to US$90.6 billion as of 14 Aug, driven by a US$10.1 billion decline in the fortune of the city-state's wealthiest man, according to Forbes' annual Singapore rich list.
Eduardo Saverin, the Facebook co-founder, saw his net worth drop to US$32.9 billion as shares of Meta Platforms fell 25% over the past year. Meta's net profit declined 14% in the second quarter even as revenue climbed 28%, with rising spending on AI infrastructure contributing to the earnings decline. Saverin, 44, who has been a Singapore permanent resident since 2023, draws most of his fortune from his small stake in the social media firm he co-founded with Mark Zuckerberg and two other classmates at Harvard University.
Kwek Leng Beng and family held on to the second spot with a net worth of US$16.1 billion, up US$1.8 billion from a year ago. The gap between the family and Saverin narrowed to US$16.8 billion, down from US$28.7 billion last year. City Developments Limited (CDL), the family's flagship and one of Singapore's biggest property developers, has been selling non-core assets as it focuses on its residential and hospitality businesses. The firm last month posted a 230.7% year-on-year surge in net profit to S$301.6 million for the first half as revenue climbed 61.1% to S$2.72 billion.
Brothers Philip Ng, 67, and Robert Ng, 74, who control Far East Organization, saw their combined fortune rise about 1.4% to US$14.3 billion. Their late father, Ng Teng Fong, founded the company after moving from China to Singapore in 1934 and later became known as "The King of Orchard Road." Far East Orchard, the Singapore-listed property arm, unveiled plans last November to build an integrated global network by 2030 spanning hotels and student accommodation.
The Lee family of Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) saw the largest wealth gain on the ranking this year, with their fortune jumping 78% to US$13.8 billion and propelling them to fourth place. Shares of OCBC, Southeast Asia's second-largest bank by assets, almost doubled over the past year amid strong growth in its wealth management business. The lender last month reported S$2.22 billion in earnings for the quarter ended 30 June, up from S$1.82 billion a year earlier.
The Goh family's combined net worth climbed 3% to US$13.5 billion, but they fell one spot to fifth. Their fortune is largely derived from a majority stake in Japan's Nippon Paint Holdings. The family's late patriarch, Goh Cheng Liang, passed away last August at the age of 98.
