For eight consecutive years, property brothers Robert and Philip Ng of Far East Organisation retained their top spot in Forbes Asia’s Singapore Rich List, with their fortune at US$9.4 billion (S$12.8 billion) this year.
They were closely followed by Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, who jumped one spot from last year with US$9.3 billion (S$12.6 billion).
Paint tycoon Goh Cheng Liang settled on the third place with a total net worth of US$7.8 billion (S$10.6 billion), while City Developments executive chairman Kwek Leng Beng grabbed the fourth place with US$7.1 billion (S$9.6 billion).
In a release, the media company noted that Singapore’s 50 richest saw their wealth increase by 11 percent year-on year to US$104.6 billion (S$142 billion), despite the sluggish economy. Nearly two-thirds of the tycoons registered an increase in wealth, even as the price entry was raised from US$455 million (S$618 million) last year to US$540 million (S$734 million).
In fact, the list featured two newcomers – hedge fund star Danny Yong and Indian real estate and financial services group Indiabulls co-founder Saurabh Mittal, who ranked 42nd and 44th respectively.
After dropping out in 2016, Oxley Holdings’ Ching Chiat Kwong, who was famous for building shoebox apartments, returned on the list with a fortune of US$615 million (S$836 million).
Forbes Asia, however, revealed that over a fifth of those returning to the 50 rich list saw a drop in their wealth, with five of the tycoons had their wealth connected to property – a sector that has yet to witness an uptick, even as some of the biggest property players had bagged prized enclaves in the land-scarce country.
This article was edited by Denise Djong.
