Goh Cheng Liang is a billionaire tycoon who is known worldwide for the formation of Wuthelam Holdings, a company which manufactures paints and coatings and which helped Goh gain the immense wealth which he boasts of today. Goh has a net worth of 7.9 billion dollars according to Forbes.
He was born in Singapore in the year 1928. He is often said to be reclusive and unlike others, in the league of billionaires, most do not know him. He founded and owns Nippon Paint South East Asia group and has 38 percent equity in the Nippon group. Goh’s life can said to be anything but struggle.
Life Story Of Goh Cheng Liang
Having been born in 1928 in Singapore, he was born into a family of six who survived on about dollars a month living in a shop-house on river valley road. His family consisted of his parents, brother and three sisters. He lived in Singapore until World War 2 broke out, his parents fearful of the war sent him to Muar in Malaya where he worked with his brother-in-law selling fishing nets before returning to Singapore in 1943.
After returning to Singapore in 1943 he started his own business selling aerated water. It failed. Broken he went and worked in a hardware store for four and a half years. Goh finally struck gold when in 1949 British Army was auctioning army supplies and he bought barrels of rotting paint, only to him it was his way to greatness. With a Chinese dictionary on chemicals in hand, he set about mixing stuff and solvents and creating his own brand of paints, known as Pigeon Brand Paints.
The Korean war of 1950 was a boon since imports were limited and his paints sold off quickly. His business got the next big push when in 1959 he became a distributor of Nippon paint. From thereon his company has become the largest producer of paints in Asia. What is most astonishing about his journey is that he never attended school of any kind and heavily critics the theory that one needs a degree for success.
Family Of Goh Cheng Liang
Parents- His dad was unemployed and a drunk man whereas his mother did laundry for people while his sisters ran a street restaurant.
Son- His son Hup Goh Jin now heads Nipsea Holdings Pvt Ltd while he has been the executive director of Wuthelam holdings since 1982.
Interest and Achievements
Goh Cheng Liang is famous for many things but the most known item on the list is definitely boating. He owns several pricey yachts and super yachts and loves sailing around. The most known would most definitely be the White Rabbit II and White Rabbit Echo. He was awarded the title of Singapore’s richest man in 2015 and was also awarded the title of Heroes Of Philanthropy in 2014. He also very generously donates for medical research, both individually and through his organisation.
His best-known donation includes 50 million dollar donation to the National Cancer Center Singapore in addition to 12 million dollars previously donated. It is also widely known that he is a very empathetic man and takes friendship to the next level. This can be seen as when one of his friends was diagnosed with liver cancer, he moved him to his penthouse suite and took over all his medical finances and took good care of him.
Worth of Goh Cheng Liang
According to Forbes, the worth of Cheng Liang is USD 7.9 Billion as of January, 2017. Forbes listed him at 270th spot in the list of world billionaires in the year 2016. He was listed on the 2nd spot by Forbes, in the list of richest men in Singapore the same year.
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