80% of 40 richest Malaysia are ethnic Chinese

KUALA LUMPUR - Eighty percent of the top 40 richest Malaysians are ethnic Chinese, according to data compiled by the Malaysian daily Nanyang Siang Pau.

The daily named sugar trader and owner of world's largest palm oil listed company Wilmar International, Robert Kuok as the richest, with a net worth of 30.28 billion ringgit ($10 billion).

The 89-year-old, the world's 33rd richest man who also holds stakes in Hong Kong-based Shangri-la Hotels beat the second richest, casino mogul Lim Kok Thay by 10 billion ringgit ($3.3 billion ) in net worth.

Lim Kok Thay, who has a net worth of 20.2 billion ringgit ($6.7 billion) inherited the casino operator Genting Group from his late father and company founder Lim Goh Tong, who was once the richest man in the country.

Telecommunication mogul Ananda Krishnan, who owns Malaysia's telecommunications giant Maxis and satellite television Astro was named the third richest with a net worth of 18 billion ringgit ($5.9 billion).

The daily named 82-year-old bank founder Teh Hong Piao, who started Malaysia's Public Bank at the age of 35 as the fourth richest with a net worth of 12.5 billion ringgit ($4.15 billion).

Syed Mokhtar Albukhary, owner of energy-to-property conglomerate MMC Corp. owner and auto-assembler DRB Hicom, was ranked 6th with a net worth of 8.7 billion ringgit ($2.89 billion).

Budget airline AirAsia's CEO Tony Fernandes was ranked 28th with a net worth of 938 million ringgit ($311.5 million).

Nanyang said the top 10 richest men in the country have a combined net worth of 126.9 billion ringgit ($42.1 billion) and 80 percent of the 40 wealthiest people in the country were ethnic Chinese, most of whom run diversified conglomerates.

The ethnic Chinese make up 22.5 percent of Malaysia's 27.5 million population.