SINGAPORE: The combined wealth of Singapore’s 50 richest remained flat at US$239bil in 2026, as declines in technology-related fortunes offset gains among most of the country’s wealthiest individuals and families.
According to Forbes’ 2026 Singapore’s 50 Richest list, 35 of the 50 listees were wealthier than a year ago, supported by Singapore’s strong economic performance and gains in sectors including banking, property and retail.
Facebook co-founder and longtime Singapore resident Eduardo Saverin retained the top spot for the fourth consecutive year despite his fortune falling US$10.1bil to US$32.9bil.
Forbes attributed the decline to a 25% fall in shares of Facebook parent Meta Platforms over the past year amid higher artificial intelligence infrastructure costs.
Property tycoon Kwek Leng Beng and his family remained in second place, with their fortune rising US$1.8bil to US$16.1bil.
Brothers Robert and Philip Ng retained third place with a combined net worth of US$14.3bil.
The Lee family, whose wealth largely comes from its stake in Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC), was the biggest gainer in both dollar and percentage terms.
The family’s fortune jumped 78% to US$13.8bil, placing it fourth on the list, following a sharp rise in OCBC shares.
Rounding out the top five on the list is the Goh family of Nippon Paint Holdings, whose wealth rose to US$13.5bil from US$13.1bil last year.
Meanwhile, the fortunes of Sea co-founders Forrest Li, Gang Ye and David Chen fell by a combined US$5.85bil after shares of the New York-listed technology group declined by nearly a third over the past year.
Forrest Li ranked 10th with US$7.7bil, while Gang Ye was 14th with US$4.3bil and David Chen ranked 44th with US$1.35bil.
Sheng Siong Group co-founder and chief executive officer Lim Hock Chee was another notable gainer, with his family’s wealth rising to US$2.7bil after shares in the supermarket operator surged 54%.
Quek Leng Chye, the Singapore-based brother of Malaysian billionaire Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan, was the sole newcomer to the list, entering at No. 48 with a fortune of US$1.2bil.
He is the managing director of Hong Leong Holdings and a cousin of Kwek Leng Beng.
The minimum net worth required to make this year’s list remained at US$1bil.
Forbes said the net worth calculations were based on stock prices and exchange rates as of the close of markets on Aug 14, 2026.
