Even at 100, Malaysia billionaire Robert Kuok is still leaving his mark on the business world

[KUALA LUMPUR] Few centenarians in the world today have lived a life like Malaysian business magnate Robert Kuok. The self-made billionaire, who celebrated his 100th birthday last October, continues to make waves at home and abroad.

Kuok is, by some distance, the wealthiest person in Malaysia with a net worth of US$11.8 billion, according to Forbes’ latest annual rankings of Malaysia’s 50 richest individuals. That amount also makes him the 112th richest person in the world.

He retired from most of his companies in the 1990s, but his vast wealth has seen him retain the top spot in Malaysia for more than 20 years.

Family empire

Born in Johor in 1923 to Fujianese parents, Kuok is the youngest of three brothers in his family. He studied at Raffles Institution in Singapore, where he was classmates with the late founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew.

Kuok is also a cousin of the late Kuek Ho Yao, a renowned philanthropist in Johor who was deeply involved in charity and Chinese school developments in the southern state.

Kuok – known as the Sugar King of Asia – and his two brothers inherited the family’s rice distribution business after their father’s death in 1948, not long after the end of World War II.

A year later, he founded Kuok Group and started trading commodities such as rice, sugar and wheat flour. The business expanded quickly and, at one point, Kuok was said to have commanded a 10 per cent share of the world’s sugar market, which led to his famous moniker.

Tapping into opportunities that opened up after the end of British rule, the Kuok family emerged as leaders in several key industries such as edible palm oil production and agribusiness.

Robert Kuok founded Kuok Singapore in 1953 and established Kerry Holdings in Hong Kong, which oversees the company’s operations in Hong Kong and China.

The Kuok Group is now a multinational conglomerate with diverse operations in six continents, covering commodities, properties, logistics, hospitality, maritime and food.

Kuok was active in the shipping industry in the 1960s, founding MISC, Malaysia’s first shipping company. He exited the company two decades later in 1987 after continued pressure from the government to issue more shares to the bumiputera community.

Kuok went on to establish Pacific Carriers in Singapore. He was also chairman of Malaysia-Singapore Airlines from 1969 to 1971, just before the company split into Malaysia Airline System and Singapore Airlines in 1972.

As the Kuok Group spread its wings in Malaysia and beyond, the company invested in major projects such as the China World Trade Center in Beijing’s Chaoyang business district, which opened in 1990.

One of Kuok’s most successful ventures was the founding of the internationally renowned Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts chain in Singapore in 1971, which currently has more than 100 hotels and resorts in 78 destinations in its portfolio.

In 1993, the Kerry Group acquired a controlling interest in the South China Morning Post newspaper, which it held for 22 years until 2015.

In 2009, after 45 years in the sugar-refining business, Kuok divested Malayan Sugar Manufacturing – a significant player controlling 80 per cent of the Malaysia’s sugar market – to Felda Global Ventures.

Passing the baton

When Kuok approached his 70th birthday in 1993, he began to gradually retire from his businesses and handed the many batons to his children and relatives, to continue his work and legacy.

His youngest son Kuok Khoon Hua – one of eight children from two marriages – is chairman and chief executive of Hong Kong property company Kerry Properties.

Second son Kuok Khoon Ean is currently the chairman of Kuok (Singapore), as well as the vice-chairman of Kerry Group and Kuok Brothers. He is also a director of Kerry Holdings and a non-executive director of Wilmar International.

Wilmar International is currently helmed by Robert Kuok’s nephew Kuok Khoon Hong, who co-founded the company in 1991. Robert Kuok’s main source of wealth stems from his major stake in Wilmar, which is the world’s largest listed palm oil refiner.

Robert Kuok’s eldest son Kuok Khoon Chen, who was chairman and CEO of Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, retired in 2016 and handed his positions to his sister Kuok Hui Kwong a year later.

Staying active

Despite relocating to Hong Kong nearly 50 years ago in 1975, Kuok has continued to play a pivotal role in Malaysia’s development.

In 2018, former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad appointed the tycoon as one of the five members in a special council to advise the new administration led by the Pakatan Harapan coalition, which toppled the Barisan Nasional government at the general election that year.

Kuok’s commitment to philanthropy is seen from the work of the Kuok Foundation, which is dedicated to education, poverty alleviation and community development.

His achievements over the decades led to scores of tributes that poured in on the day he celebrated turning 100, including well wishes from Hong Kong’s richest man Li Ka-shing.

The Lee family of Henderson Land Group wrote a note to him, saying: “Your visionary leadership and remarkable contributions to the industry have left an incredible mark.”

This is the fourth of a five-part series in BT on the wealthiest people in South-east Asia