Koh Wee Meng – Billionaire

Singapore budget hotelier and property magnate Koh Wee Meng continued expanding in Australia, announcing plans to build two new hotels in Hobart, Tasmania. His Singapore-listed Fragrance Group is also developing a 77-story tower in Melbourne, which will feature close to 800 apartments and a 187-room hotel. Son of a jeweler and school teacher, Koh broke away from the family’s jewelry business, now known as Aspial, to start his own property venture in the 1990s. He was once known as the Geylang King for Fragrance’s beginnings in Singapore’s red light district.

Singaporean property tycoon Koh Wee Meng is the founder, chairman and CEO of Fragrance Group who has an estimated net worth of $1.4 billion as of August 2013. His earnings make him 17th richest person in the Singapore’s 50 Richest List and is ranked 1031st in the list of World Billionaires. Mr. Koh started building his estimated net worth of $1.4 billion when he broke off his family’s jewelry retailer, Aspial, in the 1990’s and began making his fortune in real estate. His Fragrance Group is a company that mostly buys and sells affordable residential properties and operates a budget hotel. In 2012, he turned the hotel arm of Fragrance into Global Premium Hotels, a chain of budget hotels. He is now expanding the firm into a commercial real estate. In the last quarter, the group reportedly made a two-thirds jump in net profits to $35 million as revenues rose at 49% to $120 million. This involved the expansion projects such as Changi Suites, a residential and commercial complex. In 2012, Global Premium has also increased its earnings with the rising tourist arrivals in Singapore. In May, he bought a stake on the listed property unit, Tee Land. Its second Parc Sovereign hotel is expected to open in 2014.

Source:

1. forbes

2. therichest