Most of Malaysia’s biggest fortunes didn’t change much over the past year. The net worth of Lee Kim Hua and her family, ranked third on our annual list, was no exception—that casino pile slipped by only 1.5%, to $6.5 billion. But the family made news in other ways, with high-profile attempts to expand its gambling empire in the U.S. In October it opened an $830 million casino next to the Aqueduct horse-racing track in the Queens borough of New York City. It was in the black from day one and a rival at nearby Yonkers Raceway immediately saw its growth fade.
Next up for Genting—a $4 billion convention center next to the casino that would be the largest in the country at 3.8 million square feet. That project is backed by New York State’s governor but needs a change in the state constitution to allow a wider range of casino games than Aqueduct can offer; the company says it expects an agreement with the state by November. Things are going less well to the south in Florida. After a big lobbying push for a $3 billion, 5,200-room casino resort in Miami, the state legislature last month tabled approval of the project for at least another year, sending shares of Genting Malaysia tumbling 5% in one day.
Lee’s son, Lim Kok Thay, who runs the Genting Group, is listed separately, at No. 16, with a $605 million fortune that’s down 9% since a year ago. But another casino fortune, No. 17 Chen Lip Keong’s, jumped 60%, to $600 million. Profits soared at his Hong Kong-listed NagaCorp, which holds a casino monopoly in Phnom Penh.
Like Lee, who kept her same spot on the list, there was little movement among the country’s billionaires over the past year. Robert Kuok and Ananda Krishnan are still Malaysia’s first and second richest people, worth $12.4 billion and $9.9 billion respectively, and everyone in the top 10 remained within one place of their ranking last year. The country now has 11 billion-dollar fortunes, up from 10 last year as brothers Lee Oi Hian and Lee Hau Hian, who control palm oil and chemical company Batu Kawan, saw their net worth climb just enough to propel them into the ten-figure ranks.
Click here to see our list of Malaysia’s 40 Richest Business people.
Overall the 40 richest are worth a total of $64.4 billion, up $2.3 billion from 2011. Of these, 21 saw their fortunes rise, while 12 suffered a drop. Two members returned to the list after falling off in the last few years. And three newcomers were welcomed into the ranks of the richest, notably Ninian Mogan Lourdenadin, a doctor turned retail magnate who debuted at No. 22 with a $500 million net worth.
