Forbes’ 2024 list of Singapore’s 50 richest people includes two newcomers: expats who have become Singapore citizens.
Ji Qi, a China-born hotelier and co-founder of Trip.com, ranks 23rd with a net worth of US$2.35 billion.
He is also the founder and executive chairman of H World Group, one of China’s largest multi-brand hotel groups, which he founded in 2005 and has since expanded to include over 10,000 hotels.
Former hedge fund manager George Raymond Zage III ranks 48th, with a fortune of US$900 million derived primarily from LGBTQ dating service Grindr shares.
Zage, the founder and CEO of Singapore-based investment firm Tiga Investments, is also on the board of Grindr, which will go public on the New York Stock Exchange in 2022 following a merger with his special-purpose acquisition business.
Eduardo Saverin, co-founder of Meta Platforms (previously Facebook) and a long-time Singapore resident, has retained the title of Singapore’s richest man for the second year in a straight. He initially rose to the top spot in the 2023 list.
Saverin increased his fortune by US$13 billion, to a record US$29 billion, from US$16 billion.
This came as Meta’s shares, which are heavily invested in artificial intelligence, proceeded to rise.
His gain was the largest in absolute terms.
The wealth of nearly two-thirds of the list’s members has increased from a year ago.
The Wee family, made up of heirs to the late banking magnate Wee Cho Yaw, who died in late February, is ranked eighth.
Wee was the chairman emeritus of UOB and ranked eighth on the 2023 list.
Haidilao International Holding chairman Zhang Yong and his wife Shu Ping, the hotpot chain’s co-founder, were among the ten listees whose wealth plummeted as shares of the popular franchise fell 45 percent over the year amid lackluster consumer spending in China.
The husband-and-wife team that finished sixth last year’s list slipped four spots to tenth place as their net worth fell from $9.7 billion to $6.5 billion.
This year’s Forbes list of Singapore’s 50 wealthiest persons saw three drop-offs, with the minimum net worth for 2024 reaching a record US$870 million, up from US$750 million last year.
Despite this, the collective net worth of the country’s 50 richest individuals increased by more than 10% to US$195 billion from US$177 billion in 2023, with overall sentiment in Singapore favorable following events such as sold-out concerts by country pop phenomenon Taylor Swift and rock band Coldplay.