KUALA LUMPUR: Global media group Forbes, in its annual wealth rankings, has revealed that Tan Sri Francis Yeoh and his siblings saw the biggest increase in their personal fortunes with a combined net worth that more than tripled to US$4.7bil over the past year.
The Yeoh family jumped seven spots on the Forbes 2024 list of Malaysia’s 50 Richest to No.7 as the shares of YTL Corp Bhd surged following a partnership with US tech giant Nvidia to build AI infrastructure at its data centre park in Johor.
The share price of the Yeoh flagship firm has been rallying since late-March 2023, rising over 300% over that period of time for a market capitalisation of RM28.73bil, according to Refinitiv data.
Meanwhile, Forbes noted that Sunway’s Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah more than doubled his wealth to US$2.4bil to enter the Top 10 ranking of the 2024 list.
Also in the property sector, IOI Group’s Lee Yeow Chor and Lee Yeow Seng rose to fourth place on the list with US$5.35bil from US$4.6bil in 2023.
In banking, the heirs of the late Tan Sri Teh Hong Piow of Public Bank fame saw a slight gain in their combined wealth to US$5.4bil from US$5.3bil in the previous year.
The Teh siblings overtook Press Metal Aluminium’s Tan Sri Koon Poh Keong and his siblings, who were bumped to No.5 with a net worth of US5.3bil, down from US$5.8bil in 2023, amid weaker demand and prices for the metal.
Centenerian Robert Kuok remained Malaysia’s richest tycoon for yet another year, even after experiencing a meagre US$300mil decline over the past year to US$11.5bil.
Rounding out the Top 10 positions on the Forbes list were Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan (No.2, US$8.8bil), Tan Sri Ananda Krishnan (No.6, US$4.8bil), Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay (No.9, US$2.2bil) and Chia Song Kun and family (No.10, US$.18bil).
As for newcomers to the list, the Chen family came in at No.18 with US$1.1bil after inheriting the wealth of casino mogul Tan Sri Chen Lip Keong, who passed away in December; while the Gnanalingam family made its debut at No.12 with US$1.6bil, following the death of ports magnate Tan Sri G. Gnanalingam last July.
The collective wealth of Malaysia’s 50 richest tycoons in 2024 as compiled by Forbes, which is measured in US dollars, rose by a modest 2% to US$83.4bil.
“A declining ringgit offset a 9% rise in Malaysia’s stock market since the fortunes of Malaysia’s richest tycoons were last measured,” it said in a statement.
The complete list can be found at www.forbes.com/malaysia, as well as in the April/May issue of Forbes Asia.
