How did hotpot billionaire Zhang Yong hit the jackpot as Singapore’s richest person?
Sichuan-born CEO of hotpot chain Haidilao, which went public last year, tops Singapore’s 50 Richest List, by Forbes, with estimated net worth of US$13.8 billion
Billionaire restaurateur Zhang Yong, the founder of Sichuan hotpot chain Haidilao, has previously featured on the list of China’s richest people. And now the 50-year-old Chinese businessman has claimed the top spot on the 2019 Singapore's 50 Richest List, published by Forbes Asia.
Zhang – who according to Forbes has an estimated net worth of US$13.8 billion –replaced brothers Philip and Robert Ng of Singapore’s Far East Organisation and Hong Kong’s Sino Group, who have held the number one spot on the same list for every year this decade.
They are now ranked second on the list, with an estimated combined net worth of US$12.1 billion.
Zhang’s debut appearance on the list came this year after he became a Singaporean citizen.
His company’s HK$7.6 billion (US$963 million) initial public offering (IPO) on the Hong Kong stock exchange last year also helped to boost his personal fortune.
The controversy
His place on the Singapore's 50 Richest is not without some contention. After discovering that he had become a Singaporean citizen, Chinese netizens expressed anger at Zhang’s decision and called for a boycott of the restaurant chain.
Some people have pointed to his decision as a sign that Chinese wealth is moving to Singapore given the political instability in Hong Kong, which is traditionally the go-to destination for wealthy Chinese.