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From $3,000 loan to multi-billion dollar empire: Meet Robert Kuok, 'Sugar King' of Asia
Nov 28, 2024
When he was a young man, Malaysian tycoon Robert Kuok took a $3,000 loan from the Johor royal family to start his business. It was just after World War II ended.
As Kuok turned 101 years old on October 6, 2024, he has become known as Asia’s “Sugar King” and hotel magnate, with a net worth of $17.4 billion, as per Bloomberg.
His business interests (collectively known as the Kuok Group) range from sugarcane plantations, sugar refineries, flour milling, animal feed, oil, mining, financial services, hotel, real estate, trading and shipping.
Robert Kuok's immense fortune is anchored by a stake in Wilmar International, a publicly-traded palm oil giant.
Beyond commodities, Kuok’s Shangri-La Group stands as a symbol of luxury, with over 100 hotels spanning 78 destinations.
Despite his towering influence across Southeast Asia’s business landscape, Kuok is a master of discretion — eschewing the spotlight, guarding his privacy, and letting his legacy speak volumes.
Humble beginnings
Born in 1923 in the small southern Malaysian state of Johor, Robert Kuok’s rise to the pinnacle of business seemed improbable.
The youngest of three brothers, he inherited not wealth but values — hard work, determination, and an unrelenting spirit — from his father Kuok Keng Kang (born: December 1893), a modest trader from China’s Fujian province.
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