On the 60th anniversary of its independence, Singapore posted better-than-expected economic growth of 4.3% in the first half of 2025, thanks to an export overdrive amid tariff-related uncertainties. The city-state’s wealthiest have another reason to celebrate: Their collective net worth, up by nearly a fourth, zoomed to a record $239 billion.
In the No. 1 position for the third year in a row, Eduardo Saverin is the biggest gainer in dollar terms and leads the group of 41 people whose wealth expanded. The Facebook cofounder and longtime Singapore resident added $14 billion to take his net worth to $43 billion as an AI-fueled advertising jump caused shares of Facebook parent Meta Platforms to surge.
Real estate magnate Kwek Leng Beng climbed two spots to second place with his fortune, which he shares with his family, rising 24% to $14.3 billion, mainly due to new information about the clan’s holdings. In a headline-grabbing move earlier this year, Kwek took his son Sherman Kwek, CEO of flagship City Developments, to court for appointing new directors without following due process but two weeks later called a truce and withdrew the lawsuit.
Property siblings Robert & Philip Ng slipped to No. 3 and their combined fortune dipped to $14.1 billion, with the Hong Kong property downturn impacting their interests there. The Goh family, consisting of the heirs of paints tycoon Goh Cheng Liang, who died in August at age 98, debuted on the list at No. 4 with $13.1 billion. Shares of Nippon Paint Holdings, where the late patriarch’s son Goh Hup Jin is chairman, rose nearly 30% from a year ago following its 2024 acquisition of U.S. specialty chemicals maker AOC.
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