Budi slips to 10ths, Kuok SE Asia's richest
Budi slips to 10ths, Kuok SE Asia's richest
Agencies, Singapore
Indonesian tycoons are apparently not growing as wealthy as fast as their peers in the region, with Forbes magazine on Thursday putting only one Indonesian name in its top ten richest men in the region -- compared to two last year.
R. Budi Hartono, who owns clove cigarettemaker Djarum, came in at number 10 with a net worth of $2.3 billion. Rudi, who has stake in Bank Central Asia, formerly controlled by ex-billionaire Liem Sioe Liong, was in 8th place last year with $2.2 billion.
In addition to Rudi, Indonesia's Rachman Halim, who heads the world's largest manufacturer of clove cigarettes PT Gudang Garam, was ranked fourth last year, with $2.3 billion. This year, Rachman Halim did not even manage to stay in the top ten.
This year, Malaysians and Singaporeans dominate the list. Malaysia is a particularly bright spot, placing four of its tycoons in the top ten, among them Robert Kuok, the region's richest individual, worth $5.3 billion.
Kuok had also topped last year's inaugural Forbes roster of the region's wealthiest individuals.
The 82-year-old Kuok increased his estimated wealth by $1.2 billion over the past year as he reaped huge returns from investments of more than $5.0 billion in China's booming economy, the U.S. business publication said.
Collectively, the region's wealthiest 40 individuals were worth more than $62 billion, up $15 billion from last year, Forbes said.
Malaysia's Ananda Krishnan, who owns cable TV operator Astro and phone company Maxis, remained number two with a net worth of $5.1 billion.
Third ranked was Singaporean hotelier Kwek Leng Beng, worth some $4.0 billion.
Fourth on the list was another Singaporean, 77-year-old property tycoon Ng Teng Fong, whose wealth was estimated at $3.2 billion followed by Thailand's Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, who made it to the top 10 list for the first time with a net worth of $3.0 billion.
The 60-year-old Thai businessman, son of a street vendor, made his fortune in whisky and owns extensive properties in New York and Bangkok, Forbes said.
Singaporean banker Lee Seng Wee was ranked the sixth wealthiest individual with a fortune of $2.7 billion, followed by Malaysia's casino king Lim Goh Tong on $2.6 billion.
The 87-year-old Lim's Genting Group is one of Asia's biggest casino operators. He handed chairmanship of the company to his son Lim Kok Thay last year.
Quek Leng Chan, cousin of Singapore's Kwek, was eighth with a net worth of $2.4 billion. The crown jewel of Quek's business empire is the Hong Leong Group Malaysia, one of Asia's biggest financial conglomerates.
Singaporean banker Wee Cho Yaw, who was ranked fourth on the list last year, slipped to joint eighth with Quek.