Robert Kuok

Net Worth: $14.2 Billion

Chinese Name: 郭鹤年

Ancestral Home: Fujian

Age: 102

Nationality: Malaysian

Main Industries: Palm oil, shipping, property

Founder and Chairman of the Kuok Group, which he built from commodity trading in rice, sugar, and flour after World War II. Born in British Colonial Malaya, he made his first million on the London sugar market and went on to create a multi-industry, multinational business empire. He expanded into palm oil, shipping, property, and founded the Shangri-La hotel chain, becoming one of Asia's most respected and low-profile businessmen. In his memoir, he reflects on 75 years of conducting business across a region he witnessed transform from colonialism through the rise of Asian economies.