KUALA LUMPUR (April 16): Malaysia’s richest tycoons saw a jump in their fortunes thanks to an expanding economy, appreciating ringgit, and robust stock market.
The collective wealth of Malaysia’s top 50 tycoons on the 2026 Forbes list grew nearly 30% to US$116 billion (RM458.55 billion) from US$90 billion last year, according to a statement from the magazine. A large majority of them are also better off this year.
Robert Kuok is still Malaysia’s richest person after his net worth rose 19% to US$13.6 billion. At the age of 102, he commands a business empire stretching from agriculture to data centres.
The list was compiled based on shareholding and financial data from various sources including stock exchanges, company reports, analysts, and government records. Net worths were calculated using stock prices and exchange rates as of market close on March 27.
The ranking lists both individual and family fortunes, including those shared among relatives and may differ from the World’s Billionaires List, which includes individual fortunes with net worths as of Feb 27.
At No 2 for the first time are Tan Sri Paul Koon Poh Keong and his siblings, who edged out Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan, the patriarch of Hong Leong Group.
Recording the biggest gainers in dollar terms this year, the Koons’ net worth soared 80% to US$9.7 billion thanks to a surge in the share price of Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd (KL:PMETAL), Southeast Asia’s largest aluminium smelter by revenue.
In third place are brothers Datuk Lee Yeow Chor and Datuk Lee Yeow Seng with a net worth of US$8.5 billion. The Lees are leading palm oil producer IOI Corporation Bhd (KL:IOICORP) that is also planning to spin off some of its properties into real estate investment trusts in Malaysia and Singapore.
The wealth of Tan Sri Dr Jeffrey Cheah Fook Ling, the founder of Sunway Bhd (KL:SUNWAY), ballooned 76% to US$5.3 billion. In March, the conglomerate spun off Sunway Healthcare Holdings Bhd (KL:SUNMED) in a listing that raised RM2.86 billion, the country’s largest in almost a decade.
Another beneficiary of a wave of initial public offerings in Malaysia last year was Datuk Seri Lee Kar Whatt, a co-founder and the managing director of dollar store chain Eco-Shop Marketing Bhd (KL:ECOSHOP), who made it into Forbes’ list for the first time.