Age : 90 years old
Born : October 6, 1923
Gender : Male
Ethnicity : Han Chinese
Spouse : Ho Poh Lin
Children : Eight
Net Worth : $12.5 billion
If there really is a real sugar daddy, it’s
Robert Kuok. Not because he is a Casanova or some sort, but simply because the
sugar business made him a celebrity business. Robert Kuok Hock Nien was born in
October 6, 1923, in Johor Bahru and he was the youngest among three brothers.
He is an influential Malaysian Chinese businessman. According to Forbes his net
worth is estimated to be around $12.5 billion, making him the richest person in
Southeast Asia. Most of his businesses are privately held by him or his family.
Apart from a multitude of enterprises in Malaysia, his companies have
investments in many countries throughout Asia. His business interests range
from sugarcane plantations (Perlis Plantations Bhd), sugar refinery, flour
milling, animal feed, oil and mining to finance, hotels, properties, trading
and freight (International Shipping Corporation, Transmile Group) and publishing.
Just like Boon Siew and Lim Goh Tong who
migrated from China, Kuok's father arrived in Malaya from Fujian, China at the
beginning of the 20th century. And unlike the late Boon Siew and Goh Tong, Kuok
is one educated wealthy man. He received his early education in an English
school and later enrolled into the Raffles College in Singapore, with Lee Kuan
Yew as one of his school mates. He had a short stint working with Japanese
company, Mitsubishi after his studies in Raffles was halted due to Japanese
invasion, before helping his father with trading business.
After his father’s death, Kuok and his two
brothers made a decision to continue the business legacy, starting with sugar
distribution and a few other commodities under the new post-colonial government.
Their business skills were picked up from their father, who was an avid trader.
In 1961, he made a coup by buying cheap sugar from India before the prices shot
up. Kuok’s massive involvement in sugar industry allowed his company to become
the government’s supplier and Kuok opened up sugar refinery plants to grow it
further.
At the peak of his business, he was controlling
as much as 80% of the Malaysian sugar market with production of 1.5 million
tonnes, equivalent to 10% of the global export market, and so earned his
nickname "Sugar King of Asia". Driven by the success of his sugar
business, Kuok swiftly expanded his business into flour milling, shipping,
logistics, oil and gas and hotels. His rise to success, fame and prominence is
attributed to both his expertise in spotting opportunities and his strong
network with the big, corporate and government people.
In 1971, he built the first Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore. His foray
into Hong Kong property was in 1977, when he acquired a plot of land on the
newly reclaimed Tsim Sha Tsui East waterfront, where he built the second hotel,
the Kowloon Shangri-La. Kuok controls the Shangri-La hotel chains and is the
largest shareholder of Transmile Group Berhad, which was involved in accounting
irregularity scandal in 2007, plunging down the share price. Besides that, his
Kerry Group acquired a 34.9% stake in the South China Morning Post from
Murdoch’s News Corporation in 1993.
He is said to be checking his hotels every now
and then to make sure that the staff are giving the service of highest quality.
At times he invited taxi drivers for free lunch at the hotel’s cafe. Kuok is
considered a true gentleman when dealing with people, including his employees.
There is a story of Kuok asking permission from a cabin crew to smoke a
cigarette in aeroplane he owns. When the crew told him that he wouldn’t need to
ask anyone’s permission, he responded by saying that he is just asking in a capacity
of a normal passenger. His companies have investments in many countries,
including Singapore, Thailand, Mainland China, Indonesia, Fiji and Australia.
Businesses in China include 10 bottling companies for Coca Cola, ownership of
the Beijing World Trade Centre. His political influence is attested by his
having been selected as one of the advisors on Hong Kong’s future in the run up
to the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong, and his minority stake in CITIC
Pacific. He was also instrumental in conveying information and setting up the
meetings between Malaysia and China governments leading to full diplomatic
cross recognition of the two countries. Kuok has married twice and has eight
children. He officially retires from the Kerry Group on April 1, 1993.
Nowadays, Kuok Khoon Ean, one of the Robert’s sons, handles most of the
day-to-day operations of his business. He is residing in Hong Kong currently.
