On Forbes’ annual listing of billionaires, for three consecutive years, Bill Gates is still the richest man in the world with a net worth of $75 billion among 1,810 billionaires in the world – and among them were some Malaysians too.
Malaysia now boasts 18 billionaires, up from 14 the previous year. Here’s the top 10 richest people in Malaysia, according to Forbes.
1. Robert Kuok
While he sits on the 103rd spot in the world’s richest list, 92-year-old Kuok is still the richest man in Malaysia with a net worth $11.4 billion.
In December last year, the tycoon sold Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post to Alibaba for $265 million. His wealth is attributed to his stake in palm-oil-giant Wilmar International that is run by nephew Kuok Khoon Hong, a Singapore billionaire.
Kuok Group also dominates high-end hotel chain Shangri-La, Kerry Properties and commodities trader Wilmar.
2. Quek Leng Chan
The 76-year-old whose source of wealth is from banking, real estate, and chairs Hong Leong Co has a net worth of $6.8 billion.
He inherited part of his fortune from his father, one of 3 brothers who started a banking group in the 1920s. Quek managed to add $1.6 billion to his funds this year which pumped up his net worth by a third, and made him the country’s fourth-richest person, up from fifth last year.