These Are The 7 Richest Malays, According To Forbes
(Malaysian Digest) – Recently, Forbes published a list detailing the 50 richest persons in Malaysia. Although the list are predominantly occupied by Chinese and Indian businessmen, there are also some Malays who managed to sit in with the elites among the elites.
So in honor of the Malay businessmen who made it among Malaysia’s richest people, here are the 7 prominent Malay businessmen honored in the Forbes list.
7. Datuk Kamarudin Meranun.
Sitting in number 38 in Forbes 50 Richest Malaysian list, and seventh in our list of Richest Malays in the Forbes list, is Datuk Kamarudin Meranun. Making his wealth from AirAsia, Datuk Kamarudin Meranun is Tony Fernandes’s partner and now Chairman of AirAsia since 2013. He first started his career as a Portfolio Manager at the Arab-Malaysian Merchant Bank, before moving on to InnoSabah Executive Management as Executive Director. In 2001, he was appointed Director of AirAsia by Tony Fernandes, before then making his way up. In 2015, he was also appointed the CEO of AirAsia X, and also part of the board at Queens Park Rangers Football Club. According to Forbes, his personal wealth is estimated to be US$ 340 million, which equals to around RM 1.4 billion.
6. Mokhzani Mahathir
Coming in sixth on our list, and number 34 in Forbes list is Mokhzani Mahathir, the second son of former Prime Minister of Malaysia Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. Mokhzani gained his wealth through a lot of businesses, but most of his main source of wealth comes from his Oil and Gas companies under Kencana Petroleum. In 2012, he merged his Kencana Petroleum with Sapuracrest, a company run by his childhood friend, Shahril Shamsuddin. Other than SapuraKencana, he also sits on the board of gigantic telecommunications company, Maxis and fiber optics cable company Opcom Holdings. Forbes lists his personal wealth to be at approximately US$ 420 million, which equals to around RM1.7 billion.
5. Tan Sri Shahril Shamsuddin and Datuk Shahriman Shamsuddin
At fifth in our list is the pair of oil tycoon brothers, Tan Sri Shahril Shamsuddin and Datuk Shahriman Shamsuddin. Both of them started their business career by taking over the reins from their businessman father, Tan Sri Shamsuddin Abdul Kadir in the early 90’s. From there, Shahril and Shahriman kept growing the family business until 2012, where they merged with Mokhzani Mahathir’s Kencana Petroleum, effectively creating SapuraKencana. The pair of brothers sits pretty at No 32 on the list, with a combined personal wealth of US$475 Million, which equals roughly RM 2.03 billion.
4. Tan Sri Dato’ Azman Hashim
Coming in at fourth place is Tan Sri Dato’ Azman Hashim, the Executive Chairman of Amcorp Group Berhand and Chairman of several subsidiaries of the AmBank Group and also Amcorp Properties Berhad. Tan Sri Dato’ Azman is the epitome of a self made man. He started his career in Perth, Australia as an accountant before he returned to Malaysia to serve with Bank Negara Malaysia, until May 1964 when he left to start his own accountancy practice. From there, he was then appointed Executive Chairman of Kwong Yik Bank Berhad in 1980 until 1982 when he became the chairman of the AmBank Group. Forbes lists him at number 31 with a personal wealth at around US$490 million, which equals to roughly RM 2.09 billion.
3. Ahmayuddin Bin Ahmad
Sitting on the third spot is Ahmayuddin Ahmad who built his fortune when he cofounded Westports Holdings with G Gnanalingam. He no longer sits on the board of Westports, but he still remains as a director of Westport Malaysia. His personal wealth is estimated to be at around 570 Million US Dollars by Forbes, which translates to RM 2.4 billion.
2. Ibrahim Syed Azman
Ibrahim Syed Azman is the lone anomaly in our list. Instead of coming from a line of accountants or engineers, Ibrahim Syed Azman used to be an ex-army officer before he started out as a defense contractor. Now, he runs Southeast Asia’s largest helicopter fleet for the Oil-and-gas sector through his privately held West Star Aviation.
1. Syed Mohktar AlBukhary
And sitting at the top of our list, and gaining the title of richest Malay in Malaysia is none other than Syed Mohktar AlBukhary, the tycoon extraordinaire. This mogul started out his business in humble beginnings, dealing with rice in Kedah. After he found success in the rice business, he moved to the logistics business, plantation, property development, construction, engineering, power generation, infrastructure and ports. Forbes estimates his wealth to be at a whopping US$ 1.8 billion, which equals to roughly RM 7.7 billion.
Following is a video compilation of the 7 richest Malays as sourced from news blog MySumber detailing these billionaires biodata.
So there you have it, 7 of the richest Malays in Malaysia. Let’s take their success and make it as an inspiration for us to find our own success in the world.
