Combined Wealth Jumps To $239 Billion; Facebook Cofounder Eduardo Saverin Adds $14 Billion To Remain At No. 1

This story is part of Forbes’ coverage of Singapore’s Richest 2025. See the full list here.

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.

Other big gainers include New York-listed Sea’s three cofounders, whose fortunes rocketed as second-quarter revenue across all its units—digital entertainment, e-commerce and fintech—jumped. Chairman and CEO Forrest Li climbed six places to No. 6 with $11.2 billion; chief operating officer Gang Ye rose to No. 13 with $6 billion; David Chen, chief product officer of e-commerce arm Shopee, scaled 22 spots to No. 28 with $2 billion.

Two listees returned to the ranks after a hiatus. Teo Swee Ann, founder and chief executive of Shanghai-listed Espressif Systems, reclaimed his place after three years, with the maker of chips for a range of applications from industrial automation to wearable devices reporting record profits for 2024. Henry Ng and his siblings, who control Pan-United, made a comeback after a seven-year gap as shares of the cement maker more than doubled, thanks to its low-carbon products and AI-optimized operations.

With the minimum net worth increasing to a record $1 billion from $870 million, two from last year dropped off.

Full Coverage of Singapore’s Richest 2025:

Reporting by Gloria Haraito, Anuradha Raghunathan, Jessica Tan and Catherine Wang.

Methodology:

The list was compiled using shareholding and financial information obtained from the families and individuals, stock exchanges, analysts and other sources. Unlike our billionaire rankings, this list includes family fortunes, including those shared among extended families such as that of Kwek Leng Beng and his cousins. Net worths are based on stock prices and exchange rates as of the close of markets on Aug. 15, 2025. Private companies were valued based on similar companies that are publicly traded. The list can also include foreign citizens with business, residential or other ties to the country, or citizens who don’t reside in the country but have significant business or other ties to the country. The editors reserve the right to amend any information or remove any listees in light of new information.

Acknowledgement:

Special thanks to the JLL research team and other experts who helped us with our reporting and valuations, including Kai Jie Koh, Knight Frank Singapore; Leonard Tay, Knight Frank Singapore; and Daniel Voellm, AP Hospitality Advisors.