KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s richest man Robert Kuok Hock Nien loses US$3.2 billion of net worth as Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary drops from the latest Forbes’ 2020 Billionaires list.
Kuok, dubbed the Sugar King of Asia, again led the Malaysians line up on the list but his net worth plunged from US$12.8 billion in 2019 to US$9.6 billion.
He fell 37 spots to 141st place, from 104th spot on the list.
Syed Mokhtar was ranked 1,349th last year with a total net worth of US$1.7 billion.
There were a total of 12 Malaysians on the list.
Hong Leong Group’s Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan climbed two places to 147th from 149th in 2019.
But his net worth came in slightly lower at US$9.2 billion from US$9.4 billion last year.
Maxis Bhd’s Ananda Krishnan fell to 361st from 261st last year, with a total net worth of US$4.7 billion against US$6.2 billion in 2019.
Casino mogul Tan Sri Dr Chen Lip Keong was at 437th with a total net worth of US$4.1 billion. He was ranked 355th with a net worth of US$5 billion last year.
IOI Group's Datuk Lee Yeow Chor and Lee Yeow Seng were at 514th with net worth of US$3.6 billion.
Other Malaysian billionaires on the list are:
Tan Sri Teh Hong Piow of Public Bank Bhd
Rank: 538
Net worth: US$3.5 billion
Hartalega Holdings Bhd's Kuan Kam Hon and family
Rank: 804
Net worth: US$2.6 billion
Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay of Genting Group
Rank: 1,063
Net worth: US$2 billion
Hap Seng Group's Tan Sri Lau Cho Kun
Rank: 1,267
Net worth: US$1.7 billion
Tan Sri Paul Koon Poh Keong of Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd
Rank: 1,613
Net worth: US$1.3 billion
Top Glove Corp Bhd's Tan Sri Dr Lim Wee Chai
Rank: 1,613
Net worth: US$1.3 billion
Sunway Group's Tan Sri Dr Jeffrey Cheah
Rank: 1,851
Net worth: US$1.1 billion
Overall, 2,095 billionaires made up the 2020 list compared to 2,153 in 2019, while 267 were dropped off this year’s list.
Over half of them or a record 1,062 saw a drop in their fortunes, following the pandemic-driven market rout.
"The richest people on Earth are not immune to the coronavirus. As the pandemic tightened its grip on Europe and America, global equity markets imploded, tanking many fortunes,” Forbes said in its website on the release of the list.
“As of March 18, when we finalised this list, Forbes counted 2,095 billionaires, 58 fewer than a year ago and 226 fewer than just 12 days earlier, when we initially calculated these net worth.
"Of the billionaires who remain, 51 per cent are poorer than they were last year. In raw terms, the world’s billionaires are worth US$8 trillion, down US$700 billion from 2019," Forbes added.
Amazon’s Jeff Bezos is No. 1 on the list, with a net worth of US$113 billion.
This was followed by Microsoft’s Bill Gates with US$98 billion net worth and LVMH’s Bernard Arnault and his family (net worth of US$76 billion).
Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett took fourth place with a total net worth of US$67.5 billion, while Oracle Corp executive chairman Larry Ellison was fifth with a total net worth of US$59 billion.
Forbes said US President Donald Trump’s net worth had plunged US$1 billion in less than a month.
"As of March 1, Forbes valued President Donald Trump at US$3.1 billion. The market took a turn and reporters went back to work to approximate how much the coronavirus affected the president’s fortune.
“Trump’s newly estimated fortune is now US$2.1 billion, bringing him to No. 1,001 on this year’s ranking, down from No. 715 last year,” it added.