About Robert Kuok
Robert Kuok Hock Nien, better known as Robert Kuok, (born 6 October 1923) is a Malaysian business magnate, investor and philanthropist based in Hong Kong since 1973. According to Forbes, his net worth is estimated at $11.8 billion as of April 2023, making him the wealthiest Malaysian citizen and 96th wealthiest person in the world. As of April 2023, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index 2023, Kuok has an estimated net worth of $17.7 billion, making him the 97th richest person in the world. Although Kuok is a major figure in business circles in East and Southeast Asia, he has remained media shy and maintains a low public profile despite his massive business success and immense wealth, with most of his companies being privately held by him or his family members. Apart from presiding the ownership over a multitude of businesses spread across numerous industries in the Malaysian economic landscape, his companies have investments in many countries throughout Continental Asia. His business interests (collectively known as the Kuok Group of Companies) range from sugarcane plantations (Perlis Plantations Bhd), sugar refineries, flour milling, animal feed, oil, mining, financial services, hotel (Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts), real estate (Kerry Properties), trading, freight shipping (Kerry Logistics) and publishing. The biggest source of wealth that has contributed to his private fortune is a stake in the Singaporean company Wilmar International, the world's largest listed palm oil trader company. For three months in 2018, Kuok was appointed to the Council of Eminent Persons as an advisor during Mahathir Mohamad's second stint as prime minister. After the senior Kuok died in 1948, Kuok and his two brothers and a cousin, Kuok Hock Chin founded Kuok Brothers Sdn Bhd in 1949, trading agricultural commodities. Kuok's father Kuok Keng Kang arrived in British Malaya from Fuzhou (Hokchew), Fujian Province, China, at the beginning of the 20th century, and Robert was the youngest of three brothers born to Kuok Keng Kang and Robert's mother Zheng Ge Ru.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.