{
  "id": 5264440,
  "title": "Eduardo Saverin tops Forbes’ Singapore’s 50 richest for 4th year, even as tech tycoons’ fortunes slide",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/03/eduardo-saverin-tops-forbes-singapores-50-richest-for-4th-year-even",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-09-03T06:30:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Straits Times Business",
    "slug": "straits-times-business",
    "url": "https://www.straitstimes.com/business/eduardo-saverin-tops-forbes-list-of-singapores-50-richest-for-4th-year-but-tech-tycoons-fortunes"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "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.\n\nReal 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.\n\nSheng 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.\n\nSea'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.",
  "summary": "The collective wealth of listees remained flat at US$239 billion, unchanged from 2025.",
  "key_points": [
    "Saverin's net worth drops 10.1% to $32.9B due to Meta's share decline",
    "Kwek Leng Beng's wealth increases 11.2% to $16.1B",
    "Lee family's net worth rises 78% to $13.8B, placing them 4th"
  ],
  "editors_take": "Eduardo Saverin's retention of the top spot despite a significant decline in his net worth underscores the vast gap between him and the rest of Singapore's richest individuals.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}