Jason Chang, Li Xiting, Philip Ng top Forbes’ list of richest Singaporeans
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(From left) Semiconductor tycoon Jason Chang, medical devices company founder Li Xiting and real estate baron Philip Ng are among 54 Singaporean billionaires on the list.
PHOTOS: COURTESY OF THE ASE GROUP, GETTY, ST FILE
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SINGAPORE – Semiconductor tycoon Jason Chang clinched the top spot among Singapore’s richest, according to Forbes’ annual global billionaires list released on March 10.
On the list with him are medical devices company founder Li Xiting in second place and real estate baron Philip Ng in third.
The trio are among 55 Singaporean billionaires listed, up from 49 in 2025. Globally, they are ranked 204th, 284th and 542nd, respectively.
The collective net worth of Singapore’s billionaires was US$155.7 billion (S$198.14 billion) in 2026, compared with US$145.2 billion in 2025.
Mr Chang, who is chairman of Taiwan-based ASE Technology Holding, claimed the top spot with a net worth of US$14.2 billion. He moved up from sixth place, replacing paint tycoon Goh Cheng Liang, who died in August 2025.
Mr Li, who is co-founder and chairman of Shenzhen Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics, has a net worth of US$11.2 billion, down from US$12.8 billion in 2025.
Mr Ng, former chief executive of Far East Organization, saw his net worth dip slightly from US$7.4 billion in 2025 to US$7.2 billion in 2026.
Apart from Mr Goh, there were no other dropouts from the Republic’s billionaire list in 2026.
The late tycoon, however, was linked to five of the seven new names on the list. They are his grandchildren April Goh, Victoria Goh, Henrietta Goh, Charlotte Goh and Johan Lavoo.
Ms April Goh inherited the largest stake valued at about US$3.4 billion, bringing her net worth to around US$4 billion. A Bloomberg report in September, citing people familiar with the matter, said she is holding assets for two of her siblings who were not named.
The grandchildren reportedly received payouts of more than US$1 billion each, giving them a net worth of about US$1.3 billion each. A sixth grandchild, Mr Martin Lavoo, is also listed as a billionaire in the Netherlands, ranking No. 2,858 with a net worth of US$1.3 billion.
The other newcomers were Ms Wee Wei Chi and Ms Wee Wei Ling, daughters of the late banking tycoon Wee Cho Yaw, with net worth of about US$1.1 billion each.
Together with their siblings – UOB chief executive Wee Ee Cheong, Mr Wee Ee Chao and Mr Wee Ee Lim – the family has a combined net worth of about US$9.5 billion.
The Forbes World’s Billionaires List is a snapshot of wealth using stock prices and exchange rates as at March 1.
The 2026 list features a record 3,428 billionaires – 400 more than in 2025. Their collective net worth hit US$20.1 trillion, up from nearly US$16.1 trillion the previous year.
Tesla chief executive Elon Musk topped the list for the second consecutive year and is the richest person ever recorded, with an estimated net worth of US$839 billion.
His wealth surged by half a trillion dollars from 2025, driven by a rise in the value of Tesla, and SpaceX, which is aiming to go public in 2026.
Mr Larry Page, co-founder of Google, ranks second with an estimated net worth of US$257 billion, followed by his co-founder Sergey Brin at US$237 billion.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is in the fourth spot with US$224 billion, while Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg rounds out the top five with US$222 billion.
US President Donald Trump’s fortune rose 27 per cent to an estimated US$6.5 billion, largely due to cryptocurrency ventures and the dismissal of a New York fraud penalty. He ranks No. 645 globally.
