Kuok still richest with net worth of US$11.5b
KUALA LUMPUR: A declining ringgit has offset the nine per cent rise in Malaysia’s stock market since the fortunes of the country’s richest were last measured.
As a result, the combined wealth of the tycoons on the 2024 Forbes list of Malaysia’s 50 Richest rose by only a modest two per cent to US$83.4 billion this year.
Business mogul Tan Sri Robert Kuok, who turned 100 in October last year, continues to rank No. 1 with a net worth of US$11.5 billion.
The tycoon, one of the world’s oldest billionaires, founded the Kuok Group in Johor Baru 75 years ago.
Hong Leong Group executive chairman Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan retained his No. 2 spot despite his net worth slipping to US$8.8 billion from US$10.2 billion last year.
The Teh siblings, who inherited a stake in Public Bank from their late father Tan Sri Teh Hong Piow, moved up to third with a combined net worth of US$5.4 billion.
They displaced aluminium magnates Tan Sri Koon Poh Keong and siblings, who slid to No. 5 with a net worth of US$5.3 billion amid weaker prices and demand for the metal.
Property gains propelled another set of inheritors, brothers Datuk Lee Yeow Chor and Yeow Seng to No. 4 with a net worth of US$5.35 billion.
Yeow Chor runs the IOI Corp Bhd while younger sibling Yeow Seng oversees IOI Properties Bhd.
The biggest gainers on this year’s list, in both dollar and percentage terms, are YTL Corp Bhd’s Tan Sri Francis Yeoh and his siblings.
They more than tripled their combined fortune to US$4.7 billion and jumped seven spots to No. 7.
Another notable gainer is property magnate Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah, whose Sunway Group is betting on healthcare for future growth.
He more than doubled his wealth to US$2.4 billion and entered the top 10 for the first time at the No. 8 spot.
There are four newcomers on this year’s top 50 list.
Among them are two sets of heirs: the Chen family (No. 18, US$1.1 billion) inherited the wealth of casino mogul Tan Sri Chen Lip Keong, who passed away in December; and the Gnanalingam family (No. 12, US$1.6 billion) consisting of heirs of the late ports magnate Tan Sri G. Gnanalingam, who died last July.
The minimum net worth to qualify for the list was US$320 million, up from US$315 million in 2023.