Eduardo Saverin retains crown as Singapore's richest man

The wealth of the Lion City's 50 richest rose 10% in 2024 versus 2023.

The combined wealth of Singapore’s 50 richest on the 2024 Forbes list rose by over 10% to US$195b ($254b) from $177b last year.

Eduardo Saverin, cofounder of Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook), occupied the top spot for the second year in a row, with a net worth of $29b, adding $13b from last year as shares of Meta continued to soar. 

Siblings Robert and Philip Ng of property giant Far East Organization remained at the second spot on this year’s list despite a drop in their combined wealth to $14.4b from $14.8b. 

Li Xiting, chairman of Shenzhen Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics, remained in the third spot, though his net worth decreased to $13.4b from $14b in 2023.

Occupying the fourth spot was Kwek Leng Beng, a real estate magnate with a net worth of $11.5b, which he shares with his family.

A notable change in the top 10 ranks is the entry of the Wee family at the seventh spot with $7.8b. 

The family consists of the heirs of banking titan Wee Cho Yaw, who was chairman emeritus of United Overseas Bank (UOB). 

Wee’s eldest son, Wee Ee Cheong, is UOB’s deputy chairman and CEO; son Wee Ee Chao is chairman of both Tiger Balm maker Haw Par and brokerage UOB Kay Hian and youngest son, Wee Ee Lim, is chairman of listed property developer UOL Group.

Chairman and CEO Forrest Li jumped six places to 12th spot with $5b and COO Gang Ye climbed to 16th spot with $3.1b. 

David Chen, CPO of Shopee, returned to the ranks after a year’s gap and is at top 50 with $870m.

The two other new faces this year are China-born hotelier and Singapore citizen Ji Qi with a net worth of $2.35b at the 23rd spot and former hedge fund manager George Raymond Zage III at the 48th spot, who draws the bulk of his $900m fortune from shares in LGBTQ dating app Grindr.

The wealth of 10 listees declined and notable among this group are husband-and-wife Zhang Yong and Shu Ping with $6.5b at the tenth spot. 

Their hotpot chain, Haidilao International Holding, saw its shares fall 45% amid weak consumer spending in China. 

(US$1 = SG$1.30)