5 Malaysian billionaires you should know – from Robert Kuok to Ananda Krishnan, the men who built up palm oil, property and media empires

Mar 24 , 2020

Malaysia's five richest billionaires have all helped to build up the country over the past 60 years.

Over the past 60 years, these Malaysian families have built up their fortune and their country

Malaysia has its fair share of billionaires who have built up businesses which have shaped industries in and outside the country. Here are five of Malaysia’s richest – as well as a couple of honourable mentions – who have collectively shaped the regional economic landscape over the past six decades of more, leading the most influential family empires in the land.

Robert Kuok Hock Nien

Robert Kuok of Kerry Group founded Shangri-La Hotels in 1971. Photo: SCMP

Net worth: US$11.5 billion

Age: 96

Industry: palm oil, shipping, property

The richest man in Malaysia, Robert Kuok owns the Kuok Group that deals in real estate, commodities and hotels – starting with the Shangri-La hotels which he founded Singapore in 1971. The second Shangri-La hotel opened in Hong Kong ten years later, and built by on the newly reclaimed Tsim Sha Tsui East waterfront and known as the Kowloon Shangri-La.

The Malaysian billionaire noew lives in Hong Kong, has married twice and has eight children. His youngest, Kuok Khoon Hua was appointed CEO and vice-chairman of Kerry Properties in June 2019.

Quek Leng Chan