September 19, 2021, 07:00 PM
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Unlike her polished and at times intimidating persona on Instagram, Kim Lim's sentences are often punctuated by raucous laughter.
Right before our interview was scheduled to begin, Lim had popped up in the reception area of her aesthetic clinic (we were meeting there), but was waylaid by a rather difficult customer who had raised her voice slightly at the staff.
She later tells me casually, Aiya, this kind of thing very common one, or something to that effect.
Beyond daddy's money
About two years ago, Lim founded Illumia Therapeutics and Papilla Haircare, aesthetic clinics that focus on treatments for skin, body, and hair.
When asked how has business been, Lim modestly replies, "Not bad lah, not bad lah, hahaha. I'm happy to see the results."
It is easy to reduce her achievements to her father's wealth, and while Lim acknowledges that he did "give [her] something to start" with, it was also a "you finish it, that's it, bye bye" situation.
Backgrounder: her father is 68-year-old Peter Lim, a Singaporean business magnate, Cristiano Ronaldo's friend, and private investor with a net worth of more than S$2.5 billion as of 2021.
If that wasn't clear enough, it means that Lim is not getting anything beyond a capital sum from her father.
For most of us, that would have already been considered an enormous privilege, and Lim seems to be quite aware of that as well.
This may be in part why the entrepreneur and Instagram personality appears to be fairly adamant about building her own legacy, aside from being known as a "billionaire heiress", which is, admittedly, quite an integral part of her current identity, and a title that is sometimes splashed across media releases.
Charity
One way of doing so, besides her business empire, is through philanthropy, Lim believes.
Having turned 30 a few months ago, Lim distributed care packages to over 1,100 healthcare personnels at Fullerton Health with help from other sponsors.
Since the start of Covid-19, Lim and her company have also organised regular food deliveries grossing up to S$30,000 for frontline workers.
Another way Lim commemorated the milestone is by donating gers, or homes, to the underprivileged in Mongolia.
At this point you might be tempted to compare the tens of thousands to billions, and I am compelled to point out that the efforts were carried out through the money that Lim has earned herself.
"I do what I can lah, to my limit. I mean I'm still young, I'm still trying to earn and work hard for my own, ya. I don't really take my dad's money, I also paiseh mah, old already, hahahaha."
When I asked if she has ever felt compelled to engage in charitable acts due to her socioeconomic status, Lim answers me before I've had a chance to finish the question proper.
"No leh, I mean not obligated, but 是应该的 (it's a should). My dad brought me up like that, [...] he always taught me must give back," she said.
One in every colour
By her own confession, however, Lim has not always been this sensible.
In her younger days, the billionaire heiress (there's the term again) used to go on extravagant shopping trips where she would spend without appreciating the value of money.
If Lim had her eye on a bag, she would get one of it in every colour. And we're talking high-end here, of course.
Sometimes, the items remain in their boxes, unused.
"Last time I don't know mah, young that time," she said in a mildly sheepish tone. "But then now, no. I just buy what I like only. I still like a lot of things lah, but I just really choose and buy what I like."
Additionally, partying and drinking were pretty much routine, Lim reveals.
If you've been a follower of Lim over the years, you might also know that she once suffered from bulimia, and even up till now, battles with mental issues.
She looks back at that period of her life with candour: "It was quite bad lah, like every time I eat I vomit and all, that kind of thing, I just want[ed] to be skinny [...]."
She added:
"Bulimia is something I think someone really has to fight with it themselves, and find it within themselves to cure himself. I mean, same with depression. I also have depression. And even now sometimes when I got some trigger, I will still get depressed."
A catalyst for change
While Lim still appears to be under a certain amount of pressure to maintain her svelte figure, she's also been seeing a psychiatrist to improve her mental health.
Agreeing that she is "much better" these days, Lim credits the transformation to her son, four-year-old Kyden:
"I was 83kg when I gave birth. I'm 50kg now. [...] Came back, and then I started thinking, I just thought I must be better inside and outside lah, you know, healthy also to take care of him, and also outside responsible lah. So I just thought, want to do, do the healthy way lor."
Another factor that contributed to her growth was her foray into entrepreneurship, where Lim realised that dozens of livelihoods are now dependent on her.
It was not a change that Lim had anticipated, but it is one that has served her well.
Too "well", one might even argue.
Lim has recently undergone a nerve block surgery to alleviate stress-induced pain, after prioritising her work over health.
On Sep. 18, both Papilla Haircare and Illumia Therapeutics have expanded to the heartlands, with a presence in Nex, Serangoon.
The heiress is involved in most, if not all aspects of the business—"running the show" was the term she used.
These days, even her father is asking her to slow down.
But this version of Lim is not having it.
"I think maybe it's time for me to change, I'm already 30 leh. So I have to work hard lor, and do it, you know make a statement and legacy for myself. That's what I hope to do lah, yah."
Top image via Kim Lim's Instagram page
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