Malaysia has its fair share of billionaires according to the annual Forbes Rich List.
Forbes, the American business magazine, is known for their annual rich list. The rankings list the top billionaires from across the world. For this year, Forbes recorded at 13 percent increase in the number of billionaires stating the biggest hike in their 31 year history of the Rich List.
Unsurprisingly Bill Gates, the man behind technology giant Microsoft, tops the charts. Holding this position for the fourth consecutive year, Gates’ total wealth is estimated to be at USD 86 billion. Not far behind Gates is Warren Buffet with USD 75.6 billion.
The highest ranked resident in Malaysia is Robert Kuok. At position 115, Kuok has a net worth wealth of USD 11.7 billion. Starting out as a trader in sugar, flour and rice, today his portfolio includes Kerry Properties, the Shangri-La and Wilmar, a commodities trader.
Kuok is followed by Quek Len Chang in position 202. Chang comes from a family of wealthy counterparts adding to his USD 6.9 billion pot. Although much of his wealth has been inherited from his father, Chan is today involved in finance, property and food industries through his conglomerate Hong Leong Co.
Malaysia’s third richest person is Ananda Krishnan. With a wealth of USD 6.6 billion, Krishnan has been a big name in the telecommunications industry for sometime. Previously the second richest person in Malaysia, he has shares in Maxis, a telecoms company, and Bumi Armada, an oilfield services provider.
Other big names in the top ten of Forbes Rich List are Jeff Bezos, the founder of online retailer Amazon, Mark Zuckerberg, the brains behind Facebook, and Larry Ellison, the co-founder of Oracle. The list is not to rosy for President Donald Trump who moved down 200 places this year. The slowdown of his Manhattan property portfolio cited as a potential reason for this.