Ten-Figure Fortune

Chen Lip Keong’s Gamble On Cambodian Casino Makes Him A Billionaire

(Forbes) – Malaysia now boasts 14 billion-dollar fortunes, up from 11 a year ago. 

The year of the dragon was a lucky one for Chen Lip Keong. The Cambodian casino group he founded, NagaCorp, raked in profits as gambling revenue soared. Best of all, NagaCorp owns a monopoly on casinos in Phnom Penh until 2035. In November it broke ground on its Naga2 expansion, which will include two hotels, restaurants, an entertainment complex and a shopping area, and is set to be completed in 2015. Chen debuted on our annual list of Malaysia‘s richest with $195 million in 2009, and shares of his Hong Kong-listed company kept climbing. Then over the past year his wealth jumped 68%. That makes him a billionaire for the first time, with a net worth of $1.01 billion, and ranks him No. 13 on this year’s list.

Malaysia now boasts 14 billion-dollar fortunes, up from 11 a year ago. At No. 12 Shahril and Shahriman Shamsuddin, the brothers behind Sapura Group, break into the billionaire ranks after a $3.7 billion merger deal. (Merger partner Mokhzani Mahathir, No. 15, saw his wealth rise nearly $300 million but fall just short of $1 billion.) The third new ten-figure bundle belongs to auto magnate Tan Heng Chew and his family with $1.2 billion at No. 11.

The impending parliamentary elections, which must be held by June 27, have weighed on the stock market. But the KLCI moved up 4% over the past year, and the country’s gross domestic product rose 6.4%. So 23 members of the list saw their wealth increase, led by perennial No. 1 and No. 2, Robert Kuok and Ananda Krishnan. On the downside, some 14 people suffered losses. Retailer William Cheng was the biggest loser in percentage terms–his fortune plunged by a third, dropping him ten places on the list to No. 31.

This year FORBES ASIA expands our roster of Malaysia’s richest to 50, from 40 in previous years. That helped 9 new people appear. One is Loh Kian Chong, another car tycoon, who debuts at No. 28. At 36 he’s the list’s youngest member. No. 16, Desmond Lim Siew Choon, another newcomer, developed the posh Pavilion Kuala Lumpur shopping mall.

Three tycoons returned after a hiatus of a year or more. One is No. 49, Nazir Razak, a banker who is the son of Malaysia’s second prime minister and the younger brother of the current one. That makes two members whose fathers were prime ministers; Mahathir is the other one.

Read: Special Report: Malaysia’s 50 Richest