SINGAPORE (March 5, 2020) – Malaysia’s slowing economy, now getting hit by the coronavirus outbreak, has taken a toll on its tycoons. The wealth of the country’s 50 richest on the 2020 Forbes Malaysia Rich List fell for a second straight year due to a weaker ringgit and a nearly 10% decline in the country’s benchmark stock index. Their collective net worth of US$79 billion is down 7% from a year ago. The full list can be found here, as well as in the latest issue of Forbes Asia, available on newsstands now.
Nonagenarian business legend Robert Kuok takes the top spot again with a net worth of $11.5 billion, a position he has held for over two decades. Kuok is among four listees whose wealth shrank by more than $1 billion in the past year.
Retaining his spot on the list at No. 2 is Quek Leng Chan of Hong Leong group, who added $300 million to his fortune of $9.7 billion. Ananda Krishnan of Maxis takes the third spot with a net worth of $5.9 billion, down $300 million from the year before.
The hardest-hit in dollar terms was banking tycoon Teh Hong Piow (No. 5, $4.85 billion). The founder of Public Bank saw his fortune buffeted by headwinds in Malaysia’s banking industry, slipping two spots from No. 3 last year. Teh saw $1.85 billion shaved off his wealth since the last list as shares in Public Bank, the country’s second-largest bank by market value, declined roughly 30%. In addition to Kuok and Teh, Lim Kok Thay (No. 7, $3.2 billion) and Lau Cho Kun (No. 10, $2.3 billion) also saw their wealth decline by more than $1 billion as their fortunes fell by $1.2 billion and $1.1 billion respectively. 
AirAsia’s Tony Fernandes (No. 41) and Kamarudin Meranun (No. 43) saw more than a third of their fortunes drop, to $335 million and $315 million respectively. Aside from the coronavirus onset curtailing air travel, another blow to their fortunes came in early February after a UK court ruling implicated AirAsia and unnamed executives in an Airbus bribery case. AirAsia has denied all allegations of wrongdoing and said it is investigating the matter.
In all, 22 listees suffered a decline in their net worth from a year ago, but an equal number were modestly better off. Among the latter group was casino mogul Chen Lip Keong, who moved into the top five for the first time at No. 4. Booming growth at Chen’s NagaWorld casino complex in Cambodia, prior to the coronavirus outbreak, helped push his net worth up 6% to $5.3 billion. The share price of Chen’s NagaCorp has nearly doubled since November 2017 when the Naga2 extension opened in Phnom Penh.
Another notable gainer was Kuan Kam Hon (No. 9), who controls Hartalega Holdings, the world’s largest maker of nitrile gloves. His net worth grew $400 million to $2.8 billion, from $2.4 billion a year ago.
There are five newcomers on the list, the richest of whom are a pair of inheritors. Debuting at No. 6 are brothers Lee Yeow Chor and Lee Yeow Seng, who share a combined $4.8 billion legacy left by their father Lee Shin Cheng, the architect of the IOI palm oil and property empire, who passed away last June. Other new listees include two tech entrepreneurs: Chu Jenn Weng (No. 47, $280 million), founder of electronics maker ViTrox; and former Hewlett-Packard engineer Oh Kuang Eng (No. 50, $255 million), whose Mi Technovation makes semiconductor equipment.
Five from last year’s list are missing this year, most notably Grab cofounder Anthony Tan. With a lofty valuation of $14 billion, the ride-hailing decacorn has grown from its Malaysian roots to become a regional player headquartered in Singapore. Tan, a Singapore citizen, will therefore be a candidate for that country’s rich list. The four others who did not make the cut this year include Leong Kok Wah of property developer Eco World Development, who was affected by a glut of new property that depressed prices and market sentiment.
The minimum net worth to make the list this year is $255 million, up from $250 million last year.
The top 10 richest in Malaysia are: 
  1. Robert Kuok; US$11.5 billion
  2. Quek Leng Chan; $9.7 billion
  3. Ananda Krishnan; $5.9 billion
  4. Chen Lip Keong; $5.3 billion
  5. Teh Hong Piow; $4.85 billion
  6. Lee Yeow Chor & Yeow Seng; $4.8 billion
  7. Lim Kok Thay; $3.2 billion
  8. Koon Poh Keong, Poh Ming & Poh Weng; $3 billion
  9. Kuan Kam Hon; $2.8 billion
  10. Lau Cho Kun; $2.3 billion
The list was compiled using information from the individuals, stock exchanges, analysts, private databases, government agencies and other sources. Net worth estimates are based on stock prices and exchange rates as of the close of markets on February 14. Private companies were valued by using financial ratios and other comparisons with similar publicly traded companies.
For more information, please visit www.forbes.com/malaysia.
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