Robert Kuok (Malaysia): The patriarch of paradise

If you were to ask the average Malaysian what the principal characteristic of a billionaire was, they would probably give you a single word answer: Old. The average age of the ten richest Malaysians is 80, and the grandaddy of all Kuala Lumpur’s loaded denizens, Robert Kuok, (who is worth $11.7 billion) turns 100 next October.

Born in 1923 in a land still under the dominion of the British empire, Robert Kuok was raised by his devout buddhist mother and shopkeeper father to speak the language of the colonizer. His communist father would die fighting the English in Malasia’s war of independence in the 1950s, a sad fact that led to Robert and his two brothers, William and Philip, taking over the family rice-selling business.

Sugar and rice…
The trio decided to expand beyond the rice trade, and got into the sugar game, becoming active in cultivating, refining and exporting the sweet stuff. Proud of his Chinese roots, and blessed with a keen eye for an opportunity, Kuok began to sell his products at a discount to Malaysia’s newly installed Maoist leaders, which put the brothers in pole position to profit when the Malaysian economy opened up to the world in the early 1960s. By the middle of the decade Robert Kuok was already a millionaire, but much better was to come for both him, and his homeland.

Despite the fact that Kuok is approaching his centenary, he shows no signs of passing the baton on to a successor

With the Malaysian government doing a good job of covering its iron fist in a silky capitalist glove, the climate was fertile for local tycoons and conglomerates to emerge, a dynamic business environment that led to Malaysia being baptized a ‘tiger’ economy ─ the name westerner observers in the latter part of the 20th century gave to formerly impoverished nations that were rapidly transforming into thriving developed economies. The sun was shining on the City Garden of Lights, and Kuok was determined to take advantage.

…and all things nice
To diversify beyond the sugar business, Kuok established the Berhad Group, which got involved in everything from soft drink bottling to palm oil production, right across South-East Asia, including developing the infrastructure necessary to service these activities. But it was by getting into the hospitality business that Kuok make his first billion.  

In the 1970s Deng Xiaoping, cognizant the kindness Kuok had shown his communist brethren in Malaysia during the previous decade, offered Kuok unfettered access to the Chinese market. His next step was to establish the Shangri-La chain of luxury hotels, which half a century on comprises 40,000 rooms across over 100 establishments in some of the world’s most exclusive locations. Another string to his bow is Golden Screen Cinemas, and its 70+ multiplexes across Malaysia.

100 not out?
Despite the fact that Kuok is approaching his centenary, he shows no signs of passing the baton on to a successor. In fact, as of 2022, no clear line of succession has been made public. Kuok’s reluctance to step aside might be attributed to an embarrassment of choice. He has eight children and a host of other suitable candidates among his wider family, such as his nephew, Khoon Hong, who runs the palm oil interests of the Kuok business empire.

Robert Kuok is also something of a role model for the new generation of local entrepreneurs, his autobiographies frequently topping the best-seller lists in the bookshops of the Malaysian capital. With Kuok seemingly determined to remain in charge, the last chapter in the corporate life of this overseas Chinese entrepreneur is yet to be written.