In a year in which a weakening ringgit, a slowing economy and a lackluster stock market hurt many of Malaysia’s richest, Quek Leng Chan managed to add $1.6 billion to his kitty, more than anyone else. That pumped up his net worth by a third, to $6.4 billion, and made him the country’s fourth-richest person, up from fifth last year.
How did the banker and property mogul do it? Certainly not the way he planned. He aimed to delist Hong Leong Capital and consolidate it under Hong Leong Financial Group. But minority shareholders rebelled, and he scrapped the idea. Nevertheless, the proposal ratcheted up the share prices of both companies, and, with the market still expecting a better offer for the shares he doesn’t own, they’ve stayed up. Hong Leong Capital is 470% higher than a year earlier and Hong Leong Financial Group 16%. Hong Leong Industries also surged, by 46%. Our estimate of his fortune got another boost from better information on the subsidiaries under his Hong Leong Co. (Malaysia).
While seven of the top ten saw their wealth either plateau or dip, many other tycoons did very well. Malaysia now boasts 18 billionaires, up from 14 a year ago. No. 13 Surin Upatkoon enjoyed a 61% jump in his net worth to reach $1.3 billion after he had sold a big stake in a Thai telecom, No. 15 Mokhzani Mahathir got a 22% lift from his oil-and-gas stocks (see story, p. 60) and No. 16 Danny Tan received a 121% jolt as the value of his land bank took off. No. 17 Goh Peng Ooi cracked the billionaire ranks thanks to the soaring stock of his software company Silverlake? Axis, which goosed his fortune by 49%.
A bounty of new names–some 13 in all–added a fresh cast to this year’s roster. No. 19 Lim Kang Hoo barely missed billionaire status in his debut, coming in at $975 million. He owes his fortune to the red-hot Iskandar property market, as does another newcomer, No. 39 Leong Hoy Kum (see box). Two sizzling sectors spawned almost half of the newbies–glove manufacturing and oil-and-gas services. Synthetic-glove maker Kuan Kam Hon, at No. 22, is the second-highest-ranked newcomer (see box). No. 30 Ngau Boon Keat led the oil-and-gas entrepreneurs making their first appearance, earning his wealth by providing specialized services to refineries.
Among the departures from last year’s list are direct marketer Vijay Eswaran, dropped because his company declined to provide financial information much beyond saying that sales were down, and oil-and-gas entrepreneur Chong Hin Loon, who died at age 65 in October.
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Here's the list released by Forbes.
RANK NAME
NET WORTH AGE ORIGIN OF WEALTH
1 ROBERT KUOK
$11,500 M 90 PALM OIL/SHIPPING/PROPERTY
2 ANANDA KRISHNAN
$11,300 M 75 TELECOMS
3 LIM KOK THAY & FAMILY
$6,500 M 62 CASINOS
4 QUEK LENG CHAN
$6,400 M 70 BANKING/REAL ESTATE
5 TEH HONG PIOW
$5,600 M 83 BANKING
6 LEE SHIN CHENG
$4,300 M 74 PALM OIL/REAL ESTATE
7 SYED MOKHTAR ALBUKHARY
$3,100 M 62 DIVERSIFIED
8 YEOH TIONG LAY
$2,700 M 84 CONSTRUCTION/POWER/REAL ESTATE
9 TIONG HIEW KING
$1,800 M 78 TIMBER/MEDIA
10 VINCENT TAN
$1,600 M 62 DIVERSIFIED
11 SHAHRIL & SHAHRIMAN SHAMSUDDIN
$1,400 M - OIL & GAS
12 TAN HENG CHEW & FAMILY
$1,350 M 66 MOTOR VEHICLES
13 SURIN UPATKOON
$1,300 M 64 TELECOMS/LOTTERIES/INSURANCE
14 CHEN LIP KEONG
$1,250 M 66 CASINOS
15 MOKHZANI MAHATHIR
$1,200 M 53 OIL & GAS SERVICES
16 DANNY TAN CHEE SING
$1,150 M 58 REAL ESTATE
17 GOH PENG OOI
$1,100 M 59 SOFTWARE
18 LEE OI HIAN & LEE HAU HIAN
$1,000 M - PALM OIL/CHEMICALS/REAL ESTATE
19 LIM KANG HOO
$975 M 59 REAL ESTATE
20 YAW TECK SENG & YAW CHEE MING
$950 M - FORESTRY
21 AZMAN HASHIM
$940 M 74 BANKING
22 KUAN KAM HON
$880 M 66 SYNTHETIC GLOVES
23 JEFFREY CHEAH
$835 M 68 REAL ESTATE
24 DESMOND LIM SIEW CHOON
$775 M 53 REAL ESTATE
25 LAU CHO KUN
$760 M 78 PALM OIL/REAL ESTATE
26 G. GNANALINGAM
$750 M 69 PORTS
27 KAMARUDIN MERANUN
$735 M 52 AIRLINES
28 ANTHONY FERNANDES
$650 M 49 AIRLINES
29 NINIAN MOGAN LOURDENADIN
$600 M 60 REAL ESTATE/RETAIL
30 NGAU BOON KEAT
$590 M 65 OIL & GAS
31 SYED AZMAN IBRAHIM
$560 M 53 TRANSPORT/MOTOR VEHICLES
32 CHIA SONG KUN & FAMILY
$475 M 64 FOOD PRODUCTION
33 AHMAYUDDIN BIN AHMAD
$440 M 57 PORTS
34 LIM KUANG SIA
$430 M 61 RUBBER GLOVES
35 LING CHIONG HO
$425 M 62 SHIPS/TIMBER
36 LOH KIAN CHONG
$410 M 37 MOTOR VEHICLES/PALM OIL
37 LIM WEE CHAI
$370 M 56 RUBBER GLOVES
38 CHONG CHOOK YEW
$345 M 91 REAL ESTATE
39 LEONG HOY KUM
$340 M 56 REAL ESTATE
40 ONG LEONG HUAT
$335 M 69 FINANCE/REAL ESTATE
41 TEOH BENG SENG
$315 M 55 RETAIL
42 KHOO KAY PENG
$310 M 75 DIVERSIFIED
43 GOOI SEONG LIM
$300 M 64 PROPERTY/CONSTRUCTION
44 ABDUL HAMED SEPAWI
$285 M 64 TIMBER
45 KUA SIAN KOOI
$265 M 61 INSURANCE
46 TAN CHIN NAM
$240 M 87 REAL ESTATE
47 LIM HAN WENG
$235 M 61 OIL & GAS
48 LIM NYUK SANG
$230 M 61 PALM OIL
49 STANLEY THAI
$225 M 53 RUBBER GLOVES
50 ROBERT TAN
$220 M 61 REAL ESTATE
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