This year’s list sees 35 Singapore names who made the cut, including three new faces: Kwek Leng Keow, Michael Kum and Loo Choon Yong
Forbes has released its World’s Billionaires List 2023, an annual list that ranks billionaires around the globe. According to the list, the total worth of the planet’s billionaires has dropped to US$12.2 trillion since 2022, with “nearly half of all billionaires poorer than they were a year ago”.
The United States continues to lead with the most number of billionaires in the world—735 to be exact—with a collective worth of US$4.5 trillion. China comes in second, with 562 billionaires and a collective worth of US$2 trillion.
This year, 35 Singaporeans have also made it to the list, an increase from 26 in 2022. Their collective net worth also saw an increase from US$106.7 billion in 2022 to US$118.9 billion.
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Once again, the founder and chairman of Shenzhen Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics Li Xiting has topped the ranking as the richest Singaporean on the list, with a net worth of US$16.3 billion. That said, his global ranking has fallen from 95th place in 2022 to 103rd place this year.
Following closely behind Li is Goh Cheng Liang. According to Forbes, Goh gets his wealth from a stake in Japan’s Nippon Paint Holdings. With a net worth of US$14.3 billion—an increase from US$12.1 billion in 2022—the paint manufacturing tycoon ranks 123rd place in the world and is Singapore’s second richest person.
Other Singaporeans who have stayed on the list since 2022 include hotpot chain Haidilao chairman Zhang Yong (299th place); chairman emeritus of United Overseas Bank Wee Cho Yaw (325th place); hotel tycoon Choo Chong Ngen (1067th place); and former stockbroker Peter Lim (1164th place).
