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Forbes World's Billionaires List 2024: Mindray co-founder Li Xiting is richest Singaporean on annual list
A total of 15 businessmen from Singapore made it to the Forbes World's Billionaires List this year.
SINGAPORE — Chairman of Shenzhen Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics, Li Xiting, is the highest-ranked Singaporean on the Forbes 38th annual World's Billionaires List released on Tuesday (2 April).
A total of 15 businessmen from the city-state made it to the list.
Li, who co-founded the medical devices supplier, accumulated an estimated net worth of US$15.1 billion (S$20.4 billion) as of 2 April 2024. His vast wealth puts Li at No. 126 on the list.
Li, 73, launched Mindray in Shenzhen, China in 1991 with his Hong Kong partner Xu Hang, who currently sits at no. 249 in the billionaire list with an estimated net worth of US$9.5 billion.
The Singaporean's wealth grew exponentially during the COVID-19 pandemic when Mindray supplied medical devices, including ventilators, throughout the world.
According to Forbes, Li didn't forget to give back his huge gain to society as Mindray donated US$4.6 million worth of medical devices to hospitals in hard-hit areas like Wuhan and northern Italy during the pandemic.
Also read: Three Singapore women leaders recognised on Forbes 50 Over 50: Asia 2024 list
Also read: Singapore real estate tycoon Kwek Leng Beng in Forbes Asia 2023 Heroes of Philanthropy list
Fortune from paints
Another Singaporean, 96-year-old Goh Cheng Liang sits at No. 154 on the billionaire's list, with an estimated net worth of US$12.7 billion.
Goh made his fortune from paints and wall coatings. He created his own paint brand Pigeon in 1949 before moving into a partnership with Nippon Paint in 1962.
Nippon Paint is currently the fourth biggest paint company in the world and Goh is the majority holder of its stocks.
Other names from Singapore in the list include real estate duo Philip Ng (US$7.2 billion) and Robert Ng (US$7.1 billion), electronics tycoon Jason Chang (US$6.6 billion); and Haidilao founder Zhang Yong (US$4.9 billion).
Record-breaking list
This year's list features a record-breaking 2,781 billionaires – more billionaires than ever before – said Forbes. That's 141 more than last year and 26 more than the previous record set in 2021.
French luxury goods titan Bernard Arnault tops the ranking for the second year in a row, after his net worth grew by 10 per cent to an estimated US$233 billion – thanks to another record year at his conglomerate, LVMH.
Elon Musk remains in the second spot, with an estimated net worth of US$195 billion, up eight per cent from last year.
There's "a record-breaking 14 centibillionaires (with) 12-figure fortunes", said Chase Peterson-Withorn, Forbes Senior Editor, Wealth. "Even during times of financial uncertainty for many, the superrich continue to thrive."
Collectively, the world's billionaires are worth a record-breaking US$14.2 trillion, up by US$2 trillion from the 2023 list and US$1.1 trillion above the previous record set in 2021.
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