This is how the Kweks became Asia’s sixth-richest dynasty

The family’s net worth stands at US$18.9b.

In 1928, a penniless Chinese village boy named Kwek Hong Png travelled from the secluded province of Fujian to the island of Singapore. He first worked as an underpaid shop helper for before finally making his fortune by trading construction materials.

Nearly eighty-seven years later, Kwek’s children and grandchildren own 150 hotels that dot the skyline of 20 major cities. The family, through its diversified conglomerate Hong Leong Group, now boasts a staggering net worth of US$18.9 billion.

Singapore’s Kwek family and their Malaysian cousins, the Queks, together form Asia’s sixth-wealthiest empire, according to a report by Forbes.

Hong Leong’s portfolio includes one of Asia's largest financial services company and its biggest consumer and industrial-goods trading company.

Kwek's eldest son, Kwek Leng Beng, oversees the Singapore operations while his cousin Quek Leng Chan chairs its Malaysia business. 

Meanwhile, Kwek’s grandsons Sherman and Eik Sheng are part of the senior management team at group companies.
As family is at the core of many of the continent’s largest conglomerates and some of its best-known brands, Forbes has compiled a list of the 50 Richest Families in Asia. 

To qualify, a family’s wealth and participation in building that fortune has to extend at least three generations. 

The Kwek/Quek clan came in sixth, with Hong Kong’s Kwok family at fifth place and Thailand’s Chearavanont family at fourth place. 

Korea’s Lee family--the name behind Samsung--took the top spot. They were followed by Hong Kong’s Lee family, owners of Henderson Development, while India’s Ambani family came in third.