The collective wealth of tycoons on the 2024 Forbes list of Malaysia’s 50 Richest rose by a modest two percent to US$83.4 billion (RM399.5 billion) from US$81.6 billion (RM376.2 billion) last year.
This is amid the declining ringgit, which offset a nine percent gain in the country’s stock market.
According to Forbes Asia, business mogul Robert Kuok, who turned 100 last October, continues to rank first on the list with a net worth of US$11.5 billion (RM55 billion). The centenarian has held the country's richest person position for more than a quarter of a century.
Kuok (above) is followed by Quek Leng Chan, executive chairperson of the Malaysian arm of the privately held Hong Leong Group, who is at No 2 with US$8.8 billion (RM42.1 billion).
“Other fortunes in the top five saw a reshuffle with the Teh siblings, who inherited a stake in Public Bank from their late father Teh Hong Piow, gaining slightly and moving up to third place with a net worth of US$5.4 billion (RM25.8 billion).
“They displaced aluminium magnates Koon Poh Keong and siblings, who slid to No 5 amid weaker prices and demand for the metal and their net worth fell to US$5.3 billion (RM25.3 billion) from US$5.8 billion (RM27.7 billion) last year,” said Forbes Asia in a statement issued today.
The biggest gainers
Among the big gainers on this year's list are brothers Lee Yeow Chor and Yeow Seng, who placed at no 4 with US$5.35 billion (RM25.6 billion), up from US$4.6 billion (RM22 billion) last year. The brothers are featured on the cover of the April/May issue of Forbes Asia.
“Older brother Yeow Chor runs the family’s palm oil company IOI Corp, while younger sibling Yeow Seng oversees IOI Properties, which is preparing to open a multibillion-dollar office complex in Singapore’s central business district.”
Forbes Asia noted that YTL boss Francis Yeoh and his siblings were also among the biggest gainers in the list, in both dollar and percentage terms.
They more than tripled their combined fortune to US$4.7 billion (RM22.5 billion) and jumped seven spots on the list to number 7.
“Another notable gainer is property magnate Jeffrey Cheah, whose Sunway is betting on healthcare for future growth. Cheah more than doubled his wealth to US$2.4 billion (RM11.5 billion) to enter the top ten for the first time at No 8,” said the statement.
Also listed are four newcomers, including two sets of heirs. They are the Chen family who ranked at No 18 with a fortune of US$1.1 billion (RM5.2 billion) after inheriting the wealth of casino mogul Chen Lip Keong, who died last December.
The other heir is the Gnanalingam family (No 12 - US$1.6 billion [RM7.6 billion]), who inherited the fortune of late ports magnate G Gnanalingam who died last July.
The full list of Malaysia's 50 richest can be viewed here.
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