Singapore's 40 Richest

http://www.forbes.com/2008/08/20/singapore-richest-billionaires-biz-singaporerichest08-cz_sn_0820singaporeintro.html

Singapore's export-dependent economy has been hit by the global economic malaise. With gross domestic product decelerating and inflation rising, the Straits Times Index is down 5% over the past year, and Singapore's wealthiest are feeling the pinch. Fortunes based on real estate have dropped significantly. Four property developers, including Chua Thian Poh and Zhong Sheng Jian, saw their net worths fall by 40% or more.

Even amid the economic turmoil, plenty of Singapore's businessmen and women added to their fortunes, thanks in part to the Singapore dollar's strength against the U.S. dollar, appreciating 9% over the past year. Indeed, the total net worth of Singapore's 40 Richest is $32 billion, unchanged from last year.

On top again is Ng Teng Fong, worth $7 billion, $300 million more than last year because of a more in-depth valuation of his real estate holdings. Kuok Khoon Hong, co-founder of palm oil giant Wilmar International, and Peter Lim, an early investor, are Singapore's newest billionaires, thanks to the company's rising share price, up 31% in the past 12 months.

One way to profit amid falling prices was to cash out. Tan Boy Tee sold his stake in Labroy Marine, which had been hit by foreign exchange losses, for more than $700 million in February. Hong Leong Oei took $120 million for his shares in NatSteel in July, and Brian Chang could eventually pocket up to $566 million for selling a stake in his shipyard, Yantai Raffles, to China International Marine Containers.

Singapore's multiethnic mix and pro-business policies make it a haven for international investors and executives. Thus we have broadened the top 40 to include those who made their fortunes in the city-state or listed their companies there, even if they are citizens of another country. So, Malaysian citizen and longtime Singapore resident Chang Yun Chung returns to the list after a one-year hiatus. Sunny George Verghese is a British citizen but resides in Singapore and heads one of its best-known companies, Olam International.

Verghese is one of four new entrants. Others include Koh Wee Meng, No. 24, whose Fragrance Group is one of the few property companies in the city-state whose shares are up compared to last year. Another newcomer is Vivian Chandran, who inherited late husband Robert's stakes in Chemoil and Franklin Baker after he died in a helicopter crash earlier this year.

Five people from the 2007 list didn't meet this year's $120 million minimum, including Ron Sim. His Osim International, best known for its massage chairs, has been struggling lately. We estimate his fortune at just $60 million from $135 million last year. Christina Ong is also sitting out this year; her shares in U.K.-based luxury handbag and accessories maker Mulberry are down 45% since 2007. Shopping mall magnate Denis Jen was not included, not because he wasn't rich enough, but because his fortune is based in Australia, where he lives; ties to Singapore were difficult to find.

Public fortunes were calculated using share prices and exchange rates as of Aug. 7. For privately held assets, we estimated what they would be worth if public. Fortunes held by more than one person (typically a parent and his children or several siblings) are denoted with "and family." Where family fortunes are held by extended families, such as the Kwek fortune held by cousins Kwek Leng Beng, Kwek Leng Kee and Kwek Leng Peck, we split them into separate entries.

1 Ng Teng Fong & family 7,000 80
2 Khoo Family 6,100 NA
3 Wee Cho Yaw & family 3,600 79
4 Zhong Sheng Jian 1,800 49
5 Kuok Khoon Hong 1,300 59
6 Kwek Leng Beng & family 1,200 67
7 Peter Lim 1,100 55
8 Lee Seng Wee 730 77
9 Tan Boy Tee 720 59
10 Brian Chang 560 65
11 Ho Sim Guan 500 82
12 Chew Hua Seng 460 54
13 Kwek Leng Kee 430 54
14 Chang Yun Chung 360 90
15 Ow Chio Kiat & family 340 63
16 Lee Kian Soo & family 330 63
17 Olivia Lum 325 47
18 Ng Chwee Cheng & family 285 76
19 Ho Kwon Ping 280 56
20 Chua Thian Poh 260 60
21 Cheng Wai Keung & family 255 57
22 Simon Cheong 245 51
23 Vivian Chandran 240 NA
24 Koh Wee Meng 230 45
25 Kwek Leng Peck & family 220 52
26 Loo Choon Yong 215 59
27 Oei Hong Leong 210 60
28 Yao Hsiao Tung 200 67
29 Victor Sassoon 195 50
30 Kartar Singh Thakral 190 74
31 John Chuang & family 185 60
32 Lee Seng Tee 180 NA
33 Goh Lik Tuan 175 56
34 Wong Ngit Liong 170 66
35 Henry Ng & family 160 50
36 Margaret Lien 140 66
37 Wong Fong Fui 135 65
38 Mustaq Ahmad 130 57
39 Sunny George Verghese 125 48
40 David Lam 120 56