Nope, the richest man in Singapore is not exactly who you'd imagine to be — he doesn't work in technology, property, finance or any glamorous profession you'd associate with the affluent.
With an estimated $10.9 billion fortune, 87-year-old Nippon Paint South-East Asia Group (or Nipsea for short) founder Goh Cheng Liang is Singapore's richest man, according to a Bloomberg report published today.
Jointly owned by himself and the Osaka-based Nippon Paint Holdings, Goh recently boosted his stake in Nippon Paint to 39 percent, making him the largest shareholder in Nipsea. The company today operates in 15 Asian countries and is Asia's biggest paintmaker.
Goh set up his first ever paint shop here in 1955 during the British colonization days, and soon became a distributor for Nippon Paint with their first paint manufacturing plant established in 1962, TODAY reports.
Singapore seems to be an especially lucrative market for Goh's business, as government rules dictate that buildings need to be repainted every five years. His financial opportunities expanded on to the rest of the region, including China, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Goh's wealth now surpasses those of UOB shareholder Wee Cho Yaw (US$6.9 billion) and Tan Kim Choo the widow of late property tycoon Ng Teng Fong (US$4.9 billion).
Photo: Yoji Shidara via Flickr
Nope, the richest man in Singapore is not exactly who you'd imagine to be — he doesn't work in technology, property, finance or any glamorous profession you'd associate with the affluent.
With an estimated $10.9 billion fortune, 87-year-old Nippon Paint South-East Asia Group (or Nipsea for short) founder Goh Cheng Liang is Singapore's richest man, according to a Bloomberg report published today.
Jointly owned by himself and the Osaka-based Nippon Paint Holdings, Goh recently boosted his stake in Nippon Paint to 39 percent, making him the largest shareholder in Nipsea. The company today operates in 15 Asian countries and is Asia's biggest paintmaker.
Goh set up his first ever paint shop here in 1955 during the British colonization days, and soon became a distributor for Nippon Paint with their first paint manufacturing plant established in 1962, TODAY reports.
Singapore seems to be an especially lucrative market for Goh's business, as government rules dictate that buildings need to be repainted every five years. His financial opportunities expanded on to the rest of the region, including China, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Goh's wealth now surpasses those of UOB shareholder Wee Cho Yaw (US$6.9 billion) and Tan Kim Choo the widow of late property tycoon Ng Teng Fong (US$4.9 billion).
Photo: Yoji Shidara via Flickr