Monday, November 1, 2010

TOP 10 LIST...

1) ROBERT KUOK 

Net worth : $ 12 Billion
Age: 86
Business: diversified
(Kuok Group, Pacific Carriers Ltd, Transmile Group, Wilmar International)
HISTORY & ACHIEVEMENTS.....
If there really is a real  sugar daddy , it’s Robert Kuok. Not because he is a Casanova or some sort, but simply because the sugar business made him a celebrity businessman.
Apart from being a king of sugar, Kuok also involves in a number of other businesses including freight & transportation, hospitality, manufacturing, distribution, oil and mining, finance, properties and publishing.
Forbes estimated Kuok to worth around $9 billion in 2008 and $12 bilion in 2010, which makes him the richest man in Malaysia as well as in South East Asia.
Just like Boon Siew and Lim Goh Tong who migrated from China main land to the then Malaya, Robert Kuok’s family too, were migrant. The difference is, it was his father who migrated from China. Kuok, the youngest of 3 brothers, was born in 1923 in Johor Bahru.
And unlike the late Boon Siew and Goh Tong, Kuok is one educated wealthy man. He received his early education in an English school and later enrolled into the Raffles College in Singapore, with Lee Kuan Yee as one of his school mates. He had a short stint working with Japanese company Mitsubishi after his studies in Raffles was halted due to Japanese invasion, before helping his father with trading business.
After his father’s death, Kuok and his two brothers made a decision to continue the business legacy, starting with sugar distribution and a few other commodities. Their business skills were picked up from their father, who was an avid trader.
Kuok’s massive involvement in sugar industry allowed his company to become the government’s supplier and Kuok opened up sugar refinery plants to grow it further. At the peak of his business, he was controlling as much as 80% of the sugar market in Malaysia, and about 10% of the global export market.
Driven by the success of his sugar business, Kuok swiftly expanded his business into flour milling, shipping, logistics, oil and gas and hotels. His rise to success, fame and prominence is attributed to both his expertise in spotting opportunities and his strong network with the big, corporate and government people. Kuok controls the Shangri-La hotel chains and is the largest shareholder of Transmile Group Berhad, which was involved in accounting irregularity scandal in 2007, plunging down the share  price .
He is said to be checking his hotels every now and then to make sure that the staff are giving the service of highest quality. At times he invited taxi drivers for free lunch at the hotel’s cafe. Kuok is considered a true gentleman when dealing with people, including his employees. There is a story of Kuok asking permission from a cabin crew to smoke a cigarette in a plane he owns. When the crew told him that he wouldn’t need to ask anyone’s permission, he responded by saying that he is just asking in a capacity of a normal passenger.
Kuok also owns a string of Coca Cola bottling plants in China, as well as modern warehouse and cargo distribution centers in Hong Kong. His other regional businesses and interest include in Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia and Fiji. Robert Kuok is one of five advisers of the Iskandar Region Development Authority (IRDA), which is directly responsible to attract investment for the Iskandar Malaysia infrastructure project.   



 2) Ananda Krishnan
  

Net Worth : $ 8.1 Billion
Age : 72
Business : Telecom
(Maxis Comminications, Aircel Ltd, Astro All Asia Networks)
HISTORY & ACHIEVEMENTS.....

Ananda Krishnan  holds an MBA from Harvard University in 1964. Prior to that, he received his education from Vivekananda Tamil School and Victoria Institution in Kuala Lumpur. He attended 
University of Melbourne, Australia to complete his degree. Ananda Krishnan is married with 3 children.  

Ananda currently owns 2 of the biggest communications companies in Malaysia; Maxis Communications & MEASAT Broadcast Network Systems. Maxis is currently the biggest cellular phone company in Malaysia with more than 5 millions subscribers and about 30% of Malaysia's market share. 
MEASAT currently has 2 communication satellites navigating the earth, and offers 30 television channels and 16 radio channels. The 3rd satellite is said to being launched but is yet to be confirmed.  His satellite TV operations now include Indonesia, India, Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam and Taiwan.
Apart from that, Ananda Krishnan owns substantial shareholder-ship in Tanjong Plc, which interest in entertainment industry like Tanjong Golden Village Cinemas
Ananda's strength lies in his ability to appreciate and take advantage of new technology discoveries and make them work in his way.  His intelligent, vision and leadership has enabled him to continue leading the pack in the Malaysian's rich-list for many years.

In his course of life, he has been contributing huge sums of energy and money for the charity and foundations. He has donated as much as RM160 millions towards developing and providing education opportunities for Bumiputra in Malaysia




 3) Lee shin Cheng




Net Worth : $ 4.6 Billion
Age : 71
Business : Palm Oil
(IOI Corporation BHD)


HISTORY & ACHIEVEMENTS.....


IOI, which is listed in Bursa Malaysia, is one of the world's leading conglomerate managing oil palm plantations, specialty fats, oleochemicals and property development activities in Malaysia, Indonesia, United States and Europe. IOI refinery in Rotterdam, the Netherlands is the largest palm oil refinery in Europe. IOI's oil palm plantations in Malaysia and Indonesia produce palm oil and palm kernel oil. These oils are made into specialty oils, metallic stearates and fats that are used in soaps, detergents, cosmetics and food additives. IOI Group is also a leading real estate developer in Malaysia: projects include townships, shopping malls, condominiums, office towers and resorts.

Lee grew up northeast of Kuala Lumpur on a rubber plantation, where his father ran a small Chinese food shop. He left school at the age of 11 to help support his family, selling ice cream on a bicycle for four years before returning to finish high school. He sought work with one oil palm plantation company for a supervisory job, but was turned down. The reason given--he didn't speak fluent English--important then because Europeans still own most of the plantations. Lee, who was then only 22, was undeterred with Dunlop Estate's rejection. He went on to apply and got a field supervisor job with at another palm oil company.

About 20 years later, Lee got his 'revenge' when he gathered enough financial might to buy up Dunlop Estate. In 2008, he recalled his happiest day of his life in an interview with the New Straits Times.

    "My happiest day was in 1989 when I bought over Dunlop Estate from Multi-Purpose Holdings Bhd. This was because during the late 1960s, I had applied for a job at Dunlop Estate but they did not employ me because I was not adequately qualified. If they had employed me, I would probably not have owned the entire asset of Dunlop Estate today. This purchase marked a significant milestone in my life," he said.

The growing success of IOI in the last decade has to date propelled Lee to be Malaysia's 3rd richest[4] and world's 234th richest person[5]. FORBES magazine, in 2009, puts his net worth at $3.2 billion.In recognition of Lee's immense contributions to the evolving needs and aspirations of the property industry in Malaysia, he was bestowed the singular honour of FIABCI Malaysia Property Man of the Year 2001 Award. In February 2002, he was conferred the Honorary Doctorate Degree in Agriculture by Universiti Putra Malaysia in recognition of his contributions to the palm oil industry.

Lee serves as, among others, a Board Member of Universiti Putra Malaysia, the Adviser to the KL & Selangor Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a Council Member of Malaysian Palm Oil Association (MPOA), a member of Malaysia-China Business Council, the Honorary President of Association of Eng Choon Societies of Malaysia and Federation of Hokkien Association of Malaysia.

Since 1998, Lee has been providing scholarships and educations grants to outstanding and bright young students via Yayasan Tan Sri Dato’ Lee Shin Cheng.
4) Lee Kim Hua


Net Worth : $ 3.9 Billion
Age : 81
Business : Gaming
(Genting Group)
HISTORY & ACHIEVEMENTS.....


Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong (February 28, 1918 – October 23, 2007) was a prominent wealthy Malaysian Chinese businessman. He was renowned for his vision and courage in transforming Genting Highlands from an unexplored hilltop to one of the world's most successful casino resorts. He was once the 3rd richest man in Malaysia with a net worth estimated to be 4.2 billion USD, making him the 204th richest person in the billionaire list compiled by Forbes.


The Japanese invaded Malaya in 1942 and caused Lim to have a few near-death occasions. During the early Japanese Occupation, he earned a living as a vegetable farmer, but decided to switch to petty trading for a better living. Later on Lim ventured into scrap-metal and hardware trading. When the Japanese Occupation ended, there was an urgent demand for heavy machinery for resumed operations in mines and rubber plantations, Lim seized the opportunity and engaged in second-hand machinery trading, making his first fortune.


From used machinery trading, Lim strayed into iron mining fortuitously. Lim joined as a partner in an iron mining company which couldn't settle the outstanding payment of two bulldozers with him, and this proved to be a successful venture as he earned a substantial amount of profit from the mining industry, including forming a joint-venture tin mining company which was one of the first Chinese tin companies to utilize dredges in mining tin.


While dealing in heavy machinery, Lim accumulated a wide range of reconditioned machines as well as a substantial amount of cash to move into the construction and related industries. In the name of his family construction company, Kien Huat Private Limited, Lim began taking on several contracting jobs with help and guidance from his uncles. Kien Huat won accolades and became recognized as one of the leading construction companies after successfully completing many major projects. Among the biggest projects completed was the Ayer Itam Dam, the first time a local contractor had been given the construction job of such magnitude.


Lim went on the brink of bankruptcy when construction work was facing problems in the Kemubu Irrigation Scheme, but managed to overcome the obstacles and completed the project.


The idea of building a hilltop resort was first conceived when Lim Goh Tong was having a dinner in  Cameron Highlands . As he was enjoying the soothing cool breeze of  Cameron Highlands , an idea struck him that as the standard of living rose steadily in Malaysia, more and more people would visit mountain resorts for relaxation and recreation, but  Cameron Highlands  was too far away from the capital city Kuala Lumpur, therefore building a mountain resort nearer to Kuala Lumpur would have great business potential.


After doing some research, Lim found Gunung (mountain in Malay) Ulu Kali at a place called Genting Sempah to be an ideal location for his plan. He formed an expedition and explored the place, collecting a wealth of data on the topography, drainage, soil conditions and other relevant aspects of the region, this proved to be very useful in drawing up the plan for developing the resort.


Upon conceiving this idea, many naysayers were skeptical of Lim turning a wilderness into a tourist resort. Most thought it was really risky and reckoned Lim who was financially comfortable to be foolish to invest heavily in money and time to develop Genting, but Lim brushed off all these negativities and went ahead firmly with his plan.


After getting approvals from the federal and state governments, Lim began the project in the face of a colossal task. Among the problems were building the access road towards the hilltop, water and electricity supplies, sewerage system and fire safety. Lim managed to build the access road towards the summit in three years when it was estimated to take fifteen years. Several sources of water in the mountain were identified, water supply was secured by building water-collection stations and water filtration plants with treated water stored in reservoirs. Electricity is supplied through a central electricity generation system with 12 big generators.

During the construction, Lim survived six close brushes with death. Meanwhile, Lim had to administer another major project in Kelantan, the Kemubu Irrigation Scheme at the same time. This stretched his physical endurance to the limits as he had to shuttle between Kuala Lumpur and Kelantan and he worked seven days a week.

During the Genting project, Lim spent all he had without earning any income. He sold an 810-hectare rubber estate to raise RM2.5 million. In addition, he invested all the money he had made from iron mining, sub-contracting and hardware business. The project was a heavy drain on Lim's finances. When asked to invest in this project, Lim's friends turned him down and counseled him to drop the entire scheme instead.


Genting was granted the only casino license after  Tunku Abdul Rahman , the prime minister of Malaysia then, visited Genting Highlands and commended Lim's effort to develop a resort contributing to Malaysia's tourism industry without government help.

Lim managed to obtain a pioneer status for Genting Highlands and tax incentives despite its resort development not qualifying for it. He did so by convincing the government that tax incentives in the early stage of development of Genting Highlands were not only vital for them but also profitable to the government later on.

The whole Genting project was completed in January 1971, but prior to officially commencing business, Kuala Lumpur and its surrounding areas were hit by the worst rainstorms in a century, the road to Genting was closed by landslides at 180 locations, the damaged sections took four months to repair. Genting opened its door for business on May 8, 1971.

In the next 30 years, Lim continued to develop and expand Genting Highlands beyond its original idea of a hotel with basic tourist facilities. Among the projects were the construction of more hotels, indoor and outdoor theme parks, and a convention centre. A new road was built to shorten the journey to Genting from the northern states, and RM120 million was invested to widen a 10 km stretch of the access road to reduce congestion. Another RM128 million was spent on constructing a cable car system to provide visitors with an alternative mode of transportation.

In 1993, at the suggestion of Tun Mahathir, the prime minister of Malaysia then, a township was developed on an 81-hectare piece of land around the site of the Genting Skyway cable car station. It was named Gohtong Jaya after Lim as a token of remembrance for his efforts in the development of Genting Highlands.


As of now, Genting Highlands is one of the most successful casino resorts in the world and is one of the primary tourist attractions in Malaysia. Lim's company, Genting Group operates Genting Highlands and has diversified into many other industries such as plantations, property, paper, power generation, oil and gas exploration and cruise industries. In the process new company brands were created that have become distinctive names in their respective fields, namely Asiatic, Genting Sanyen and Star Cruises.


On December 31, 2003, Lim handed his chairmanship of Genting Group over to his son, Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay.
Lim died at 11.20am, October 23, 2007, at the Subang Jaya Medical Centre (SJMC).

Lim had won many awards together with his company Genting Group for his entrepreneurship and his contribution, among them were:
Malaysian Entrepreneurs Award 1985
Manager of the Year Award 1986
Business Achiever of the Year Award 1994
Number 1 ranking of 10 Malaysian Leading Companies 1996
The Best Employer Award 1996
He was conferred the title "Tan Sri" by the government of Malaysia on 6 June 1979 in recognition to the contribution he has made to the country.

In 1978 Lim set up Yayasan Lim, a family foundation that donates regularly to educational and medical institutions, old folk's homes, various organizations for the physically handicapped and other charitable causes.
2008 G2E Asia Visionary Award 

  
5) Quek Leng Chan


 


Net Worth : $ 3.85 Billion
Age :69
Business : Diversified
(Hong Leong Group, Guoco Group, Rank Group)
HISTORY & ACHIEVEMENTS.....
Bhg Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan born 1941, Singapore is a Malaysian tycoon who co-founded Hong Leong Group Malaysia. He is one of the richest men in Malaysia with an estimated net worth of US$2.9 billion according to Forbes in 2007.

YBhg Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan studied in Victoria School in Singapore and is qualified as a Barrister-at-Law from Middle Temple, United Kingdom. He has extensive business experience in various business sectors, including financial services, manufacturing and real estate. He is the Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Hong Leong Company Malaysia Berhad “HLCM”, Executive Chairman of Hong Leong Industries Berhad “HLI”, Hume Industries Malaysia Berhad “HIMB”, Hong Leong Financial Group Berhad, GuocoLand Malaysia Berhad, Camerlin Group Berhad and Chairman of Hong Leong Bank Berhad, HLG Capital Berhad “HLG”, Hong Leong Assurance Berhad, Hong Leong Islamic Bank Berhad and Hong Leong Foundation “HLF”.

Quek oversees the Malaysian operations of the Hong Leong Group while his cousin and fellow billionaire Kwek Leng Beng oversees the Singapore operations. 
6) Teh Hong Piow
Net Worth : $ 3.8 Billion
Age :80
Business :Banking
(Public Bank)
HISTORY & ACHIEVEMENTS....








Tan Sri Dato' Seri Dr. Teh Hong Piow, the Chairman of Public Bank Berhad in Malaysia, was born in Singapore on 14 March 1930. He attended his formal primary and secondary education at the Anglo-Chinese School in Singapore. He has been married to Puan Sri Tay Sock Noy since 1956 and they have four children.

He began his banking career in 1950 as a Bank Clerk in Overseas-Chinese Banking Corporation Ltd. and rose in rank to officer within five years. He joined Malayan Banking Berhad as Manager in 1960. Later in 1964, he was promoted to the position of General Manager at the young age of 34. Teh then left Malayan Banking in 1966 to set up Public Bank.

One of Malaysia's wealthiest businessmen, Piow obtained three degrees at the unaccredited Pacific Western University and two PhDs at Clayton University also unaccredited and University Malaya. His net worth is estimated by Forbes to be US$3 billion, making him the 287th richest person in the world and the 4th richest in Malaysia.

7) Yoeh Tiong Lay



Net Worth : $ 2.5 Billion
Age :80
Business : Diversified
(YTL Corporation)
HISTORY & ACHIEVEMENTS.....


Tan Sri Dato' Seri Dr. Yeoh Tiong Lay is a Malaysian business tycoon and a prominent philanthropist. He founded YTL Corporation, Malaysia's biggest and most successful conglomerate with interests in construction, utilities, hotels, property development and technology. YTL is based primarily in Malaysia but has extensive operations in Asia, Australia and the United Kingdom, where it owns the utility Wessex Water. YTL Corp has over $3 billion in cash.

When one hears about YTL Corp Bhd, they are likely to mentally associate it with Bukit Bintang. About 6 years ago, YTL Group took over JW Marriot Hotel, Starhill & Lot 10, subsequently introduced Bintang Walk. Little does one know that YTL empire grew from construction business way back in 1955. Francis Yeoh, eldest son of Tan Sri Yeoh Tiong Lay stepped into his father’s shoes at a tender age of 24 in 1978 to manage YTL Corp, and is now a prominent person behind this group. The newest proposed plan on site is to build a US$3billion bullet train project linking KL to Singapore.


Yeoh Tiong Lay completed his secondary school education at Hin Hua High School in Klang, Malaysia. He is the father of Francis Yeoh, who is the eldest of his 7 children, all of whom are involved in the family business.

He is one of the richest individuals in Malaysia, his family is estimated to have a net worth of US$ 2.5 billion, and is ranked as the 421st richest person on earth according to Forbes in 2010.
He was conferred the prestigious Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon by the Emperor of Japan for his efforts in promoting bilateral relations between Malaysia and Japan on the 19th of January 2008.

8) Syed Mokhtar Albukhary
 
Net worth : $ 1.7 Billion
Age: 58
Business: Diversified
(Malaysia Mining Corporation (MMC), Malaysia Johor Port, Malakoff, Gas Malaysia)
HISTORY & ACHIEVEMENTS.....

Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar al-Bukhary  is currently the richest bumiputra corporate figure with many interest in diversified business areas which include transportation and logistics, plantations, property development, defense and armory as well as engineering and power generation.  He is also a symbolic figure that holds philosophy that 'education does not guarantee success in life, but hard work does', and he's a walking proof of that.  
Syed Mokhtar al-Bukhari  was born into a mid-low class family in north of peninsular Malaysia; whose house was without necessities and luxuries. His highest education was only until form five, and he never went to university. But that doesn't mean he's lacked of knowledge. A whole lot of his knowledge and experience was gained through his own entrepreneurship experience during his youth time.
Due to his family's mediocre-to-poor background, Syed Mokhtar al Bukhary had to step into the working world in his early life, while pursuing his primary and secondary studies. Syed Mokhtar helped his mother planting and selling vegetables in the market and also selling roti canai. His numeric knowledge was used to help his father in doing daily book keeping.
After finishing school, Syed Mokhtar helped his father in breeding cow business but only to see the business washed away by foot and mouth disease. Nevertheless, he took over the business and start over by selling meats. He then move on to packaging the meats and start selling them wholesale. His determination paid off and the business started to take off.
As his determination starting to skyrocket, he quickly moved to expand into diversification of other businesses. His next big move was in the logistics business, with initial goal to transport their trading materials. More success followed and he moved to rice trading business. He worked even harder after awarded the rice trading license from Lembaga Padi Negara, and was later awarded successions of supplier contract government-linked corporations. As the saying goes, 'the harder you work, the luckier you get'.
He currently holds shareholder-ship in Malaysia Mining Corporation Berhad (MMC), BERNAS, Malakoff Berhad, Johor Port Berhad, Impian Teladan Sdn Bhd and many others. Even becoming the talk of the country, Syed Mokhtar, most of the times tried to lay low. He is rarely available for press interview and remains elusive in the world of publicity. Instead, he focuses his work on philanthropist's work and is passionate with his charity foundation under the name of al-Bukhary Foundation.
Al-Bukhary Foundation helped to build Islamic Art Muzium valued at RM70 millions as well as building many mosques and charity establishments in Kedah, Perak and across the country.


9) Vincent Tan




Net worth : $ 1.6 Billion
Age: 58
Business: Diversified
(Berjaya Group)

HISTORY & ACHIEVEMENTS..... 
Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Vincent Tan, 58, started his business from humble beginnings in 1971. Through his entrepreneurial skills and leadership, and a series of acquisitions and organic growth, he transformed a steel company which he acquired a major controlling stake in 1984 into Berjaya Corporation Berhad, a diversified conglomerate in Malaysia listed on Bursa Malaysia.

A Pioneering Entrepreneur

Tan Sri Vincent is a pioneer in many innovative business sectors in Malaysia and has always worked towards providing new experiences to Malaysians. In the early 1980s, he brought in the McDonald’s franchise business into Malaysia. Besides businesses held through the Berjaya Corporation group of companies, Tan Sri Vincent is involved through other holdings in Internet-related businesses, water utilities, broadcasting and telecommunications.

The Berjaya Group is currently involved in diverse businesses such as consumer marketing, multi-level direct selling, hotels and resorts, recreational development, property investment and development, financial services, food and beverage, media, education, motor vehicle distribution, gaming and lottery management, and the environmental sanitary landfill business.

Among Tan Sri Vincent’s most notable accomplishments is the acquisition of Cosway Malaysia Sdn Bhd in October 1993, a very successful direct selling marketing company in Malaysia. He later introduced eCosway.com in 2001, an online business portal to tap into the international market.

In the food and beverage industry, Tan Sri Vincent is the master franchise holder for Kenny Rogers Roasters’ restaurants worldwide with over 300 restaurants. In Malaysia, he is the franchise holder for Starbucks Coffee since 1998, Wendy’s restaurants since 2007 and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts restaurants since 2008. He is also the franchise holder for Papa John’s Pizza restaurants in Malaysia since 2008 and granted the first right of refusal for the potential expansion of the business to Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and The Philippines.  Tan Sri Vincent is also the franchise holder for Borders Bookstore in Malaysia since 2005.

In property development and investment, the Berjaya Group entered into several joint ventures in countries like Vietnam, China, South Korea and Thailand to undertake various property related developments, infrastructure and hotel and resort projects. The Group owns and operates a chain of 18 four- and five-star hotels in cities and tropical island resorts in Malaysia and abroad, offering over 4,000 rooms.

In 2008, Berjaya University College of Hospitality, Malaysia’s first university college specializing in Hospitality, Tourism and Services education opened in Berjaya Times Square Kuala Lumpur. He also owns the SUN newspaper since 1993, the third national English daily and Malaysia’s first and only free national newspaper.



Better Malaysia Foundation

Tan Sri Vincent is more than just being a successful businessman, he is also a notable philanthropist. He has contributed substantial sums in support of various social and community projects, partnering with non-profit organizations and charitable institutions, geared to help the community achieve a better quality of life.  

Preferred to keep a low personal profile, Tan Sri Vincent spearheads corporate involvement in numerous noble causes where millions of ringgit have been donated annually, both privately and through the Berjaya Group of Companies.

Tan Sri Vincent has also set up a personal foundation, the Better Malaysia Foundation (formerly known as VTCY Foundation) in 1997, to provide aid and relief for medical and charitable purposes. He also sponsors the Sathya Sai Medical and Dental Clinic at Jalan Klang Lama, Kuala Lumpur, which offers free medical services to the underprivileged community and a feeding programme which provides for the poor and needy in the Klang Valley. In addition to that, he is sponsoring a clinic in Jalan Klang Lama known as OKR Acupuncture Centre that offers acupuncture treatment for free.