The number of billionaires in Singapore has risen from 26 in 2022 to 35 this year, according to Forbes' list of the world's richest people in 2023.

This is despite a reduction in the total number of billionaires world, from 2,668 to 2,640, as well as a decrease in the total wealth of all billionaires worldwide, from US$12.7 trillion (S$16.9 trillion) to US$12.2 trillion (S$16.2 trillion).

Within Singapore, the combined net worth of all billionaires is US$118.9 billion (S$157.9 billion).

Richest person in Singapore is still Li Xiting

The richest person in Singapore remains Li Xiting, the co-founder and chairman of Shenzhen Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics, a supplier of medical devices.

As of 2023, Li has a net worth of US$16.3 billion (S$21.67 billion). This is a drop from 2022 when he had a net worth of US$17.6 billion (S$23.4 billion).

Li also topped the list of Singapore's richest at that time.

Li was born in Anhui, China and first founded his company in 1991.

He is a naturalised Singapore citizen.

In 2020, Li added US$3.36 billion (S$4.8 billion) to his net worth as a result of the surge in demand for ventilators.

This gain was the second highest worldwide for 2020, just behind Jeff Bezos, the world's richest man and CEO of Amazon, who saw a gain of S$4.82 billion for the same period.

Chairman of Haidilao is fourth-richest person in Singapore

Other billionaires on the list include Goh Cheng Liang, Philip Ng and Zhang Yong, who came in at second, third and fourth places respectively.

In the case of Goh, with a net worth of US$14.3 billion (S$19 billion) the bulk of his wealth is from a majority stake in Japan's Nippon Paint Holdings, the world's fourth-largest paint manufacturer.

Meanwhile, Philip Ng's net worth was listed by Forbes at US$7.6 billion (S$10 billion).

He controls Far East Organisation — Singapore's largest private landlord and property developer together — together with his brother, Robert Ng.

As for Zhang, his net worth is US$7.5 billion (S$9.96 billion).

He is the chairman of Sichuan hotpot chain Haidilao, which went public in September 2018.

Haidilao currently has over 1,000 restaurants, most of which are in China.

However, it also has outlets in the U.S., Japan, South Korea and Singapore.

Who are the new additions to the list?

New billionaires who debuted on the 2023 list included Kwek Leng Keow, Michael Kum and Loo Choon Yong.

Kwek Leng Keow, with a net worth of US$1.4 billion (S$1.86 billion), is the managing director of Hong Realty, a unit of Hong Leong Investment Holdings.

According to Forbes, he inherited a stake in Hong Leong Group from his father, Kwek Hong Leong, whose brother, Kwek Hong Png, founded the group in 1941.

As for Kum, he is a hotel tycoon with a net worth of US$1 billion (S$1.3 billion), with his privately held hotel group M&L Hospitality managing brands such as Hilton and Hyatt.

Loo's net worth was also listed at S$1 billion, as the co-founder of Raffles Medical Group.

Returning billionaire: Razer CEO

The list also included a returning billionaire: Razer's Chief Executive Officer, Tan Min-Liang, with a net worth of US$1.1 billion (S$1.4 billion).

The last time was Tan was on the list was in 2018.

Forbes reported that Tan and Lim Kaling — a founding investor and director at Razer — took the company private in a deal that valued it at S$3.2 billion, in May 2022.

Elon Musk is no longer the richest person in the world

As for the richest person in the world, Forbes reported that the position has since been taken from Elon Musk by French luxury-goods tycoon Bernard Arnault, with a net worth of US$211 billion (S$280 billion).

Musk came in second, with US$180 billion (S$239.1 billion).

However, the U.S. still boasts the most number of billionaires in the world, with 735.

China, not including the citizens of Macau and Hong Kong, came in at second place, with 495.

Top photo by Pierpaolo Lanfrancotti via Unsplash