Robert Kuok
Malaysian businessman; founder of the Kuok Group and Shangri-La hotels
| Robert Kuok
| |
|---|---|
| Born | 6 October 1923 (Forbes) Johor, Malaya |
| Nationality | Malaysian |
| Residence | Hong Kong (Forbes) |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Known for | Founder of the Kuok Group and Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts |
| Children | 8 (Forbes) |
| Education | Raffles College, Singapore (Forbes) |
Robert Kuok (born 6 October 1923) is a Malaysian businessman who founded the Kuok Group, a conglomerate with interests in property, hotels, logistics, commodities and shipping. He opened the first Shangri-La hotel in Singapore in 1971 and has lived in Hong Kong since the 1970s.[1][2][3] On 11 November 2026 the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires list ranked Kuok 254th in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$12.5 billion; Forbes lists the source of wealth as palm oil, shipping, property.[1][4] In the annual World's Billionaires list published in 2026, Forbes had ranked Kuok 204th, at US$14.2 billion.[5]
Early life
Kuok was born in Johor in 1923. He went to the English College in Johor and then Raffles College in Singapore, according to Free Malaysia Today.[3][1] During the Japanese occupation of Malaya he worked in Mitsubishi's rice distribution business, rising from clerk to head of department by the end of the war.[3]
Kuok Group
After his father died in 1948, Kuok and his relatives founded Kuok Brothers to take over the family's rice business.[3] The group says Kuok Brothers was incorporated in Johor Bahru in 1949, trading rice, sugar and wheat flour, and that it expanded to Singapore in 1953 and set up Kerry Holdings in Hong Kong in 1974.[2][1] Free Malaysia Today says he built a sugar refinery in Prai, Penang, with Japanese partners, and left sugar refining in 2009 when Malayan Sugar Manufacturing was sold to Felda Global Ventures. It says he was once called the "Sugar King".[3] The group lists its businesses as property, hospitality, logistics, food and agribusiness, maritime, digital infrastructure and commodities.[2] It says it is the largest shareholder in Wilmar International, which Forbes says is run by Kuok's nephew Kuok Khoon Hong.[2][1] The Business Times said in 2023 that he had retired from most of his companies in the 1990s.[6]
Shangri-La
The group entered the hotel business with the opening of the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore in 1971.[2][1] Malay Mail said in 2023 that the Shangri-La group had more than 100 hotels and resorts in 78 destinations.[7]
Media
Kuok's group owned the South China Morning Post until it sold the paper and other SCMP Group media assets to Alibaba Group in 2015.[2][3] In 2023 the paper's chairman, Joe Tsai, said Kuok had mentored him on being a custodian of the paper.[7]
Family
Forbes says his eldest son Beau Kuok chairs the Kuok Group and his youngest son Kuok Khoon Hua is chairman and chief executive of Kerry Properties. It says his grandson Kuok Meng Wei leads the family's investments in AI data centres through K2 Strategic.[1] Kerry Properties says Kuok Khoon Hua has been its chairman since May 2022 and chief executive since June 2019, and also chairs Kerry Holdings and sits on the board of Wilmar International.[8]
Political connections
Malay Mail described his close relationships with Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew and Malaysia's Mahathir Mohamad, and said Lee turned to Kuok for advice in his early years as prime minister.[7] Free Malaysia Today says he chaired Malaysia-Singapore Airlines from 1969 to 1971. It says he left the shipping line MISC in 1987 after government pressure over its shareholding, and then started Pacific Carriers in Singapore.[3]
Philanthropy
The group says the Kuok Foundation was set up in Malaysia in 1970.[2]
Wealth history
Forbes has included this entry in its annual World's Billionaires list in 26 of the editions from 2001 to 2026 checked for this profile, starting with 2001. The table gives the rank and estimated net worth in each annual list.[5][1]
| Year | World's Billionaires rank | Net worth (US$ bn) |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 109 | 3.7 |
| 2002 | 84 | 4.1 |
| 2003 | 97 | 3.4 |
| 2004 | 111 | 4.2 |
| 2005 | 94 | 5.0 |
| 2006 | 114 | 5.0 |
| 2007 | 104 | 7.0 |
| 2008 | 97 | 9.0 |
| 2009 | 62 | 7.0 |
| 2010 | 33 | 14.5 |
| 2011 | 61 | 12.5 |
| 2012 | 64 | 12.4 |
| 2013 | 76 | 12.5 |
| 2014 | 95 | 11.5 |
| 2015 | 110 | 11.3 |
| 2016 | 103 | 10.0 |
| 2017 | 115 | 11.4 |
| 2018 | 96 | 14.8 |
| 2019 | 104 | 12.8 |
| 2020 | 141 | 9.6 |
| 2021 | 171 | 12.6 |
| 2022 | 163 | 11.7 |
| 2023 | 146 | 11.8 |
| 2024 | 176 | 11.4 |
| 2025 | 195 | 12.1 |
| 2026 | 204 | 14.2 |
International and political links
This section uses the same ten headings for every profile in this series. Only specific, sourced actions are included; company-level and foundation-level actions are labelled as such. Where nothing was found, the entry reads "No documented involvement found in sources checked."
Israel (investments, operations, donations, contracts, statements)
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Zionist or pro-Israel organisations and lobbying groups
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Jewish communal charities
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Gulf states
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
China
The Kuok Group says it became one of the first foreign investors in mainland China in 1980, and that Kerry Holdings, set up in 1974, made Hong Kong and the mainland its focus.[2] Free Malaysia Today names the China World Trade Centre in Beijing, opened in 1990, as one of his best-known investments there.[3] His group sold the South China Morning Post to the Chinese company Alibaba in 2015.[2][3]
Russia
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
India
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Palestinian or Arab causes
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Home government
After the 2018 general election, Mahathir Mohamad appointed him to the Council of Eminent Persons, an advisory group, with Daim Zainuddin, Zeti Aziz, Hassan Merican and Jomo KS.[3][7]
Other international links
In Singapore, Malay Mail said Lee Kuan Yew turned to him for advice. Kuok chaired Malaysia-Singapore Airlines from 1969 to 1971.[7][3]
See also
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Forbes, Forbes profile record for Robert Kuok (Forbes data feed behind forbes.com/profile/robert-kuok/) Forbes, live record, read 11 November 2026, accessed 11 November 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Kuok Group, About Us kuokgroup.com, undated page, accessed 11 November 2026.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 Free Malaysia Today, Robert Kuok, Malaysia’s wealthiest tycoon, turns 100 Free Malaysia Today, 6 October 2023, accessed 11 November 2026.
- ↑ Forbes, Forbes Real-Time Billionaires data feed Forbes, live; downloaded 11 November 2026 10:29 UTC, accessed 11 November 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Forbes, Forbes World's Billionaires list data feed, annual editions 2001–2026 (one file per year at this path with the year substituted; all 26 files downloaded and read) Forbes, annual lists; downloaded 20 October 2026, accessed 11 November 2026.
- ↑ The Business Times, Even at 100, Malaysia billionaire Robert Kuok is still leaving his mark on the business world The Business Times (Singapore), October 2023, accessed 11 November 2026.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Malay Mail, Robert Kuok celebrates 100th birthday with Hong Kong elites Malay Mail, 6 October 2023, accessed 11 November 2026.
- ↑ Kerry Properties Limited, Board of Directors kerryprops.com, undated page, accessed 11 November 2026.