No. of Billionaires in S’pore Increased to 35 in 2023

Last Updated on 2023-04-12 , 10:11 am

If you ever feel despair, remember that there are people out there worth billions. That will drive you deeper into despair.

In all seriousness, Singapore has quite a sizable number of billionaires from which you could take inspiration.

Still, it’s hard to wrap your head around the fact that some people have that much money.

The number of Singaporeans on Forbes’ World’s Billionaires List is 35 this year, up from 26 last year.

Mr Li Xiting: Singapore’s Richest Man

At 103rd on the billionaires list is Mr Li Xiting, founder and chairman of Shenzhen Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics, which supplies medical equipment.

Like last year, he holds the top spot in the growing list of billionaires who are from Singapore.

You probably would not have guessed the exact numbers of his net worth, but it is a whopping US$16.3 billion (~ SG$ 21.7 billion).

Mr Li, who pursued his undergraduate studies at the University of Science and Technology of China, founded the company in 1991.

While COVID-19 may be why many are struggling financially, Mr Li’s wealth was accelerated by it.

The pandemic saw a surge in demand for ventilators, a device used to help patients breathe. His company produces exactly that.

Its shares increased by 41% due to the demand for these devices.

Mindray makes 3,000 ventilators a month, and it received numerous calls from ambassadors and diplomatic missions in China to request more medical devices at the start of the pandemic.

Their sales in Europe also increased a lot.

The COVID-19 pandemic contributed US$7.3 billion (~ S$9.7 billion) to Mindray’s wealth in 2020 alone.

Perhaps you could follow in Mr Li’s footsteps and start a business specialising in healthcare items in preparation for the next outbreak.

Other Billionaires on the List

Several nonagenarians are on the list, including Mr Goh Cheng Lian, 95, who owns Singapore’s Japan’s Nippon Paint Holdings franchise.

He is the second richest man in Singapore, with a net worth of US$14.3 billion (~ S$19 billion). Starting small in a paint factory in Singapore, Mr Goh eventually partnered with Nippon Paint in 1962.

Mr Wee Cho Yaw, a 94-year-old banking mogul, is also on the list. He is the chairman emeritus of United Overseas Bank, which was co-founded by his father, Wee Khiang Cheng, in 1935.

Some new additions to the group include Mr Kwek Keng Leow, 71, who holds a stake in Hong Leong Group. He is worth US $1.4 billion (~ S$1.9 billion).

Mr Michael Kum, 78, is on the list with a net worth of US$1 billion (~ S$1.3 billion). He manages many hospitality firms across Asia and Europe, including hotel chains such as Hilton.

Haidilao’s chairman Zhang Yong, 52, is also one of our billionaires with a net worth of US $7.5 billion (~ S$10 billion).

Haidilao, everyone’s favourite hotpot restaurant here, is no stranger to popularity. It has opened 1,000 restaurants worldwide and expanded out of China to countries like South Korea and the United States.

Real estate tycoons like the Kwee siblings who own Pontiac Land and Mr Robert Ng, who manages Far East Organisation take up much of the list of billionaires from Singapore.

To view the full list of billionaires, click here.