Eduardo Saverin tops Forbes’ Singapore’s 50 richest for 4th year, even as tech tycoons’ fortunes slide

Singapore's tycoons maintained a collective wealth of US$239 billion, with no significant change from the previous year, according to Forbes' 2026 rankings of the country's 50 richest individuals. Despite being ranked first for the fourth consecutive year, Meta Platforms co-founder Eduardo Saverin saw his net worth plummet by US$10.1 billion, to US$32.9 billion.

This decline was largely due to a 25% drop in Facebook parent Meta Platforms' shares, which were affected by a 14% decrease in second-quarter net profit, despite a 28% increase in revenue. The drop was mainly attributed to rising AI-related infrastructure costs at the company.

Real estate tycoon Kwek Leng Beng and his family retained second place, with their wealth increasing by US$1.8 billion to reach US$16.1 billion. The Kwek family's City Developments has been divesting non-core assets and focusing more on residential and hospitality sectors. Property brothers Robert and Philip Ng remained in third place, with their wealth rising to US$14.3 billion, up from US$14.1 billion in 2025.

The Lee family saw the biggest increase, with their combined net worth rising by 78% to US$13.8 billion, putting them in fourth place.

Sheng Siong Group co-founder and CEO Lim Hock Chee ranked 24th with a net worth of US$2.7 billion, thanks to a 54% surge in his shares as Singapore's second-largest supermarket chain by revenue experienced significant store expansion. The Goh family of Nippon Paint Holdings climbed to 25th place, with their wealth increasing from US$13.1 billion to US$13.5 billion.

Sea's three co-founders dropped in ranking as shares of the US-listed tech company declined by nearly a third from the previous year. Sea chairman and CEO Forrest Li was ranked 10th with a net worth of US$7.7 billion, while COO Gang Ye and Shopee CPO David Chen fell to 14th and 44th positions, respectively. Notably, Quek Leng Chye, the brother of Malaysian billionaire Quek Leng Chan, made his debut on the list at 48th place with a wealth of US$1.2 billion.