Billionaire brothers dominate Wealth-X list of Singapore's richest property tycoons

SINGAPORE - Members of the Kwee and Hiranandani families took six of the ten spots on a Wealth-X ranking of Singapore's wealthiest real estate tycoons.

Collectively, the six brothers from these two families hold US$7.2 billion (S$9 billion) in assets - nearly half of the US$15.57 billion(S$19.4 billion) combined net worth of their peers on the list.

The four Kwee brothers of the Pontiac Land Group - a luxury property development company specialising in commercial, residential, hospitality, and retail properties - collectively have a net worth of US$4.6 billion.

Kwee Liong Teck, with a personal fortune of US$1.3 billion, serves as chairman of the company his father founded in 1959. His three brothers, who also appear on the Wealth-X list, are board members as well.

The Hiranandani brothers collectively have a net worth of US$2.6 billion. Raj Kumar, owner of the Royal Holdings Organisation, and Asok Kumar, chairman of the Royal Group, inherited their father's business and have turned it into one of the leading property players in the Asia-Pacific region.

Only two individuals on the list are self-made, while Far East Organisation CEO Philip Ng, who claimed the top spot on the list, inherited his wealth from his father and succeeded him as head of the business in 1991.

The rest of the individuals on the list inherited some of their wealth, but have also expanded their fortunes through their own business endeavours.

There are 1,355 ultra high net worth (UHNW) individuals in Singapore with a combined net worth of US$160 billion, according to the Wealth-X and UBS World Ultra Wealth Report 2013. Among these are 27 billionaires with a combined net worth of US$64 billion.

This article was first published in Wealth-X.