We take a look at the 22 billionaires based in Singapore who worked their way to the top with no help
Forbes released their 35th Annual World’s Billionaires List this week and it was an exciting one as the exclusive list saw 439 newcomers despite the effects of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
This means there was approximately one new billionaire every 17 hours. 86 per cent of all billionaires were also richer than they were a year ago.
In Singapore alone, there were 32 billionaires featured on the list. So, with these incredible numbers, we thought we would take a look at some of our local billionaires who are self-made and who climbed their way to the top through sheer grit, creativity and know-how.
Read on to find out how these 22 individuals did it.
(Related: Who are the Richest Billionaires in Singapore Who Made the 2021 Annual Forbes List?)
1. Zhang Yong
NET WORTH: US$23B
China's richest restaurateur and now a naturalised Singapore citizen, Zhang Yong, is the founder of the famous hot pot chain Haidilao. The restaurant opened its doors in China back in 2018; today, Zhang has 768 Haidilao outlets in China, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and the United States.
Haidilao gained popularity quickly when it was introduced mostly because of the high-quality dishes they served as well as their highly attentive customer service. In fact, the restaurant offers manicures, hair ties, snacks and more for their guests.
Zhang never finished high school and did not actually know how to prepare a typical Sichuan hotpot when he first started out.
Financially, the billionaire was helped out by three friends, one of whom later became his wife, who provided him with the seed money.
2. Goh Cheng Liang
NET WORTH: US$21.7B
Goh Cheng Liang, who is currently 93 years old, founded Nippon Paint Singapore in1955.
Though the company started out small, Goh quickly grew the company such that it became Singapore's first paint manufacturing plant. Today, Nippon Paint Holdings is the world's fourth-largest paint manufacture.
This year, Goh's son, Hup Jin, who chairs Nippon Paint, decided to sell their privately held ventures for US$12 billion in exchange for additional shares in Nippon.
