A total of 18 Malaysians are on the Forbes billionaires list 2023 with a collective wealth of US$54.7 billion (RM240.48 billion). Robert Kuok remains at the top of the list with a fortune of US$11.8 billion (RM51.8 billion).
See below for the full list of all Malaysians in Forbes World’s Billionaires List 2023:
Robert Kuok #146
Net worth: RM51.8 bil
- Robert Kuok is the richest man in Malaysia. He owns the Kuok Group, which has interests in hotels, real estate and commodities.
- He started his career in business trading rice, sugar, and wheat flour in 1949.
- The business tycoon founded the internationally renowned Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts chain in Singapore in 1971.
- His nephew Kuok Khoon Hong runs Wilmar International, in which Kuok has a valuable stake.
- Robert Kuok’s youngest son Kuok Khoon Hua is CEO and vice chairman of Hong Kong property company Kerry Properties.
Quek Leng Chan #179th
Net worth: RM44.4 bil
- Quek Leng Chan is the executive chairman of privately held Hong Leong Co. (Malaysia), which has interests in finance, food and property.
- Part of his wealth was inherited from his father – one of three brothers who started a banking group in the 1920s.
- His cousin, Kwek Leng Beng, is also a billionaire and chairs the Hong Leong Group in Singapore.
Ananda Krishnan #511
Net worth: RM11.8 bil
- Ananda Krishnan is a Harvard Business School grad and former oil trader.
- His holdings include stakes in telecom outfit Maxis, media firm Astro Malaysia Holdings and oilfield services provider Bumi Armada.
- Krishnan’s Indian telecom firm, Aircel, in which he had invested an estimated $7 billion, filed for bankruptcy protection in 2018.
Koon Poh Keong #699
Net worth: RM17.5 bil
- Koon Poh Keong and his four brothers started a company called Press Metal Aluminium Holdings in 1986.
- Koon Poh Keong and his brothers launched the company in a rented factory in Puchong, near Kuala Lumpur.
- The brothers pooled $50,000 to start the aluminium-extruding company at a time when Malaysia was in a recession.
- Today Press Metal is Southeast Asia’s largest integrated aluminium producer and competes with Rio Tinto, Russia’s Rusal and the Aluminum Corp of China.
- Poh Keong is the group chief executive while Poh Ming is the executive vice chairman and Poh Weng is the executive director.
Chen Lip Keong #1067
Net worth: RM12.3 bil
- Chen Lip Keong’s NagaWorld holds a casino license in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh running to 2065, with a guaranteed monopoly to 2035.
- NagaWorld is the largest casino resort in Indochina.
- Naga2 opened across the street in November 2017, connected by the underground mall NagaCity Walk.
- NagaCorp is the first casino company to be listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange and the first to do business principally in Cambodia.
- Chen also controls Karambunai, a Malaysia-listed property developer and hospitality company with an eponymous resort in Sabah, Malaysia’s portion of Borneo.
Lee Yeow Chor #1067
Net worth: RM12.3 bil
- Lee Yeow Chor and Lee Yeow Seng are the sons of the late Lee Shin Cheng, who died in June 2019.
- The brothers inherited stakes in IOI group, a palm oil and property empire built by their father.
- Lee Yeow Chor is the group managing director and chief executive of IOI Corporation and holds a law degree from King’s College, London.
Lim Kok Thay #1312
Net worth: RM10.1 bil
- Lim Kok Thay is the chairman of Genting, a casino and resorts conglomerate with a global footprint.
- In January 2022, Lim’s troubled cruise operator Genting Hong Kong, which was hit hard by the pandemic, filed a winding-up petition. Lim stepped down as chairman.
- Lim’s assets include Empire Resorts, the parent company of loss-making Resorts World Catskills.
- A long-drawn family feud over the empire’s wealth and businesses, which include a palm-oil unit, was finally resolved in early 2020.
Kie Chie Wong #1647
Net worth: RM7.9 bil
- Kie Chie Wong is a Malaysian investor who has lived in Australia since the 1980s
- He gets the bulk of his wealth from a minority stake in Fortescue Metals Group.
- Wong once held a 26.5% stake in Fortescue, for which he paid about $1 million in 2003.
- Wong was part of a Malaysian consortium, which bought an Australian realtor in 1988.
- He reportedly hails from a Sarawak timber family in Malaysia.
Lau Cho Kun #1725
Net worth: RM7.4 bil
- Lau Cho Kun is the largest shareholder in Hap Seng Consolidated, through holding company Gek Poh and investment arm, Lei Shing Hong.
- The diversified firm’s interests include financial services, plantations and property.
- Its plantation division is one of the largest producers of palm oil in Sabah, East Malaysia.
- Hap Seng Consolidated has been operating Mercedes-Benz dealerships in Malaysia since 1969.
- Privately held Hong Kong-based Lei Shing Hong runs Mercedes-Benz dealerships in Asia and Europe.
Syed Mokhtar Albukhary #1804
Net worth: RM7 bil
- Syed Mokhtar AlBukhary is a low-profile entrepreneur who started as a rice trader after dropping out of high school.
- A big portion of his wealth comes from stakes in DRB-HICOM and MMC Corp.
- MMC’s operations span ports, logistics, construction and engineering while DRB-HICOM is an automotive firm with interests in property and education.
- DRB-HICOM sold a 49.9% stake in Malaysian car-maker Proton to Chinese auto group Zhejiang Geely in 2017.
- In 2021, he delisted MMC Corp, which has been facing a string of challenges including a drop in shipment volumes; higher operation costs and a slump in engineering contracts.
Lee Yeow Seng #1804
Net worth RM7 bil
- Lee Yeow Chor and Lee Yeow Seng are the sons of the late Lee Shin Cheng, who died in June 2019.
- The brothers inherited stakes in IOI group, a palm oil and property empire built by their father.
- Lee Yeow Seng who studied law is the executive vice-chairman of IOI Properties.
G. Gnanalingam #1905
Net worth: RM6.5 bil
- Former tobacco executive G. Gnanalingam chairs Westports Holdings, a multi-cargo port operator that he cofounded with Ahmayuddin bin Ahmad on securing the concession in 1994.
- The group owns a 60-year concession to operate and expand its container terminals in Pulau Indah and Port Klang, which will end in 2054.
- Westports is one of three main port operators in the Strait of Malacca.
- His son, Ruben Emir Gnanalingam, is Westports’ group managing director.
Lillyn Teh Li Hua #2133
Net worth: RM5.7 bil
- William Teh Lee Pang, Lillian Teh Li Ming and Dr Lillyn Teh Li Hua are children of the late Tan Sri Teh Hong Piow, founder of Public Bank Bhd.
Lilliann Teh Li Ming #2133
Net worth: RM5.7 bil
- William Teh Lee Pang, Lillian Teh Li Ming and Dr Lillyn Teh Li Hua are children of the late Tan Sri Teh Hong Piow, founder of Public Bank Bhd.
William Teh Lee Pang #2133
Net worth: RM5.7 bil
- Diana Teh Li Shing, William Teh Lee Pang, Lillian Teh Li Ming and Dr Lillyn Teh Li Hua are children of the late Tan Sri Teh Hong Piow, founder of Public Bank Bhd.
Diana Teh Li Shing #2133
Net worth: RM5.7 bil
- Diana Teh Li Shing, William Teh Lee Pang, Lillian Teh Li Ming and Dr Lillyn Teh Li Hua are children of the late Tan Sri Teh Hong Piow, founder of Public Bank Bhd.
Jeffrey Cheah #2259
Net worth: RM5.2 bil
- Jeffrey Cheah is the founder and chairman of one of Malaysia’s largest public listed conglomerates, Sunway Group.
- He founded Sunway in 1974 and remains active in its day-to-day operations as the Group’s chairman.
Tan Yu Yeh #2405
Net worth: RM4.8 bil
- Tan Yu Yeh gets his wealth from his stake in Mr D.I.Y. Group, a home improvement retail chain, which was founded in 2005.
- The company was listed on the Malaysian stock exchange in October 2020 making them both billionaires.
- To date, Mr D.I.Y. has 900 stores in Malaysia and Brunei – carrying products across ten categories including electrical items, toys, kitchen appliances, stationery and many more.
- Tan Yu Yeh worked as an engineer and then as a remisier before setting up his home improvement venture.
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