Wealth of tycoons on 2018 Forbes Malaysia Rich List soars

SINGAPORE: The wealth of tycoons on the 2018 Forbes Malaysia Rich List soared over the past year. A 6.6% rise in the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index over the past year and a 13.1% appreciation in the ringgit's value against the dollar helped boost most of the tycoons' fortunes.
Overall, 34 listees saw their wealth increase while only six experienced a decline. The full list can be found here, as well as in the latest issue of Forbes Asia, available on newsstands now.
Robert Kuok tops the list again with a net worth of US$14.8 billion (RM57.8 billion). Kuok is also the year's biggest dollar gainer, as he added US$3.4 billion to his wealth, up from US$11.4 billion last year. Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan (No. 2, US$7.2 billion) of Hong Leong (Malaysia) and Ananda Krishnan (No. 3, US$7.1 billion) of Maxis, retain their spots within the top three on the list this year.

Tan Sri Dr Chen Lip Keong (No. 7, US$3.3 billion), Chief Executive and majority shareholder of NagaCorp, saw his wealth increase by US$1.7 billion amid the rising tide of tourists to Cambodia, the country's low labour costs and Chen's tight controls on capital expenditures. The gaming billionaire is also featured on the cover of the latest issue of Forbes Asia.

Brothers Tan Sri Koon Poh Keong and Poh Ming (No. 8, US$3 billion) are this year's biggest percentage gainers as they saw their combined fortune jump 186% from US$1.05 billion last year. A cutback in aluminium smelting in China for environmental reasons has boosted demand for the aluminium produced by their company, Press Metal.
Poh Keong came up with the idea for the company and owns 80% of the US$3 billion in wealth. That makes him a new billionaire in his own right.

Two other new billionaires are Sunway conglomerate's Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah (No. 13, US$1.3 billion) and rubber-glove mogul Tan Sri Lim Wee Chai (No. 14, US$1.2 billion).
Cheah's wealth rose US$330 million from US$970 million last year, while Lim's wealth increased by US$560 million from US$640 million previously.

Other notable gainers on the list are AirAsia duo Tan Sri Tony Fernandes (No. 30, US$745 million) and Datuk Kamarudin Meranun (No. 31, US$735 million).
Their net worths more than doubled as their low-cost carrier plans to add 30 aircraft due to the strong demand in the region, consolidate the Southeast Asian units into one holding company and establish joint ventures in China and Vietnam. AirAsia is also looking to take its Indian arm public.
Among the eight newcomers, this year is Yong Pang Chaun (No. 39, US$430 million), managing director of Padini Holdings. The only woman to make the list this year is Datuk Dr Norraesah Mohamad (No. 49, US$305 million) of My E.G. Services.

Tan Sri Francis Yeoh and his six siblings (No. 11, US$2.4 billion) take the place of their father Tan Sri Yeoh Tiong Lay, founder of YTL Corp., who passed away last October at age 87. Francis has been running the family's property, manufacturing and utilities conglomerate for more than two decades.

Siblings Lim Peng Cheong and Peng Jin (No. 15, US$1.19 billion) also join the list for the first time as their father, Lim Teck Meng, founder of packing-materials-producer Scientex, drops off the list after giving most of his shares to them.

Other newcomers to the list are Datuk Leong Kok Wah (No. 36, US$480 million) of Eco World Development; Datuk Seri Cheah Cheng Hye (No. 38, US$435 million) of Value Partners; Datuk Mohd Abdul Karim Abdullah (No. 48, US$310 million) of Serba Dinamik and Anthony Tan (No. 50, US$300 million) of Grab, following the close of a successful US$2.5 billion fund-raising round in January.

The minimum net worth to make the list this year is US$300 million, up from US$210 million.

The top 10 richest in Malaysia are:
1)Robert Kuok; US$14.8 billion
2)Quek Leng Chan; US$7.2 billion
3)Ananda Krishnan; US$7.1 billion
4)Teh Hong Piow; US$6 billion
5)Lee Shin Cheng; US$5.6 billion
6)Lim Kok Thay; US$4.7 billion
7)Chen Lip Keong; US$3.3 billion
8)Koon Poh Keong & Poh Ming; US$3 billion
9)Lau Cho Kun; US$2.6 billion
10)Kuan Kam Hon;US $2.5 billion

The list was compiled using information from the individuals, stock exchanges, analysts, private data bases, government agencies such as the Companies Commission of Malaysia, and
other sources. Net-worth numbers are based on stock prices and exchange rates as of the close of markets on Feb 9.
Private companies were valued by using financial ratios and other comparisons with similar publicly traded companies.
The estimates include a spouse's wealth and where the person is the company founder, they also include the wealth of sons and daughters that's derived from that company.
In cases in which the fortunes of family members are based on the same company, we combine these members into one listing, as long as each of them has enough wealth to qualify for the list on his or her own.