Haidilao boss Zhang Yong is richest person in S'pore in 2020

Two years in a row.

Tanya Ong | August 20, 2020, 11:23 AM

The Forbes list for the 50 richest people in Singapore is out.

Topping that list is billionaire Zhang Yong, chairman of hot pot chain Haidilao.

He made his debut on the list of richest people in Singapore in 2019, with a net worth of US$13.8 billion (S$19.2 billion) at that time.

The 50-year-old has added US$5.2 billion to his net worth to total US$19 billion (S$26 billion) this year.

Haidilao cofounder Shu Ping, who is also Zhang's wife, is listed together with him this year.

Who is Zhang Yong?

Zhang is a naturalised citizen and resident of Singapore.

According to Forbes, Zhang never finished high school and did not know how to prepare the typical Sichuan hotpot when he first started.

He started the business with three friends, including one who became his wife, who helped with seed money. However, he ran the place.

Now, Haidilao has over 700 restaurants all over the world, including Japan, South Korea and Singapore. Most of the restaurants are located in China.

The chain has done US$3.8 billion in sales.

Singapore's Forbes 50 list

The number #2 spot sees a debut by Li Xiting, cofounder and chairman of Shenzhen Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics.

Li is a naturalised Singapore citizen.

Facebook cofounder Eduardo Saverin, who ranked third in 2019, is placed fourth this year with a net worth of US$14.6 billion.

This was after paint tycoon Goh Cheng Liang, boss of Nippon Paint, moved one spot up to number #3.

Rich get richer despite pandemic

Singapore is facing an economic recession due to the global pandemic.

This year, Singapore entered into a technical recession for the first time since 2009.

On Aug. 11, it was also reported that the economy shrunk by 13.2 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2020, from April to June.

Despite this overall downward trend, however, the nation’s 50 richest saw their collective net worth rise 28 per cent to US$167 billion, Forbes reported.

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Top photo credit: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images, EatPrayLove/FB