Eduardo Saverin, the co-founder of Meta, formerly known as Facebook, is now Singapore's richest person with a net worth of US$16 billion (S$21.8 billion), Forbes reported.

The Brazilian native was described as the "biggest gainer" for 2023.

His net worth went up by US$6.4 billion (S$8.7 billion) as shares of Meta increased by nearly 70 per cent.

Saverin moved to Singapore in 2009.

Bloomberg reported that as of 2022, he owns 2 per cent of Meta from which he derives the majority of his wealth.

Previous billionaire in first place falls to third

Earlier in April 2023, the richest person in Singapore was Li Xiting, the co-founder and chairman of Shenzhen Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics, a supplier of medical devices, with a net worth of US$16.3 billion (S$22.2 billion).

However, he has fallen to third place, with his net worth dropping to US$14 billion (S$19 billion).

Forbes reported that the drop follows an anti-corruption drive by China against the pharmacy sector, which caused a drop in healthcare stocks.

As for second place, this is held by the Ng brothers, Robert and Philip, of the Far East Organisation — Singapore's largest private landlord and property developer together — with a net worth of S$14.8 billion, down from S$15.2 billion in 2022.

Meanwhile, Goh Cheng Lian, who controls Japan's Nippon Paint Holdings, came in at fourth.

Goh's net worth fell from US$13 billion (S$17.7 billion) in 2022 to US$12.3 billion (S$16.7 billion).

Haidilao founder comes in at 6th place with a net worth of US$9.7 billion (S$13.2 billion)

Fifth place is held by the chairman of City Developments, Kwek Leng Beng.

His net worth rose by 18 per cent from US$9.3 billion (S$12.6 billion) to US$11 billion (S$15 billion).

Following the pandemic, City Developments has been looking out for global acquisitions and in March 2023, it bought London's iconic St Katharine Docks.

As for sixth place, this is held by the founders of the Sichuan hotpot chain Haidilao — Zhang Yong and his wife, Shu Ping — with a total net worth of US$9.7 billion (S$13.2 billion).

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.

Previously in April 2023, Forbes had listed Zhang by himself as the fourth richest person in Singapore with a net worth US$7.5 billion (S$9.96 billion).

In total, the number of combined wealth of tycoons on Forbes' list of the 50 richest people in Singapore rose by 8 per cent, from US$164 billion (S$223.7 billion) 2022 to US$177 billion (S$241.4 billion) in 2023, amidst a slowing economy.

Top photo by Chin Ict via Pinterest