Tycoon’s fortune makes six grandchildren billionaires

An academic in New York and the founder of a Bali charity are among six billionaires who inherited stakes in the paint empire built by Singapore’s second-richest man.

The six are grandchildren of late Asian tycoon Goh Cheng Liang, who died in Singapore last month at age 98. Each has inherited stakes in a publicly traded firm worth more than $US1 billion ($1.5 billion) per person.

The handover of the fortune marks an unusual transfer of assets for an ultrarich Asian family that has skipped one generation.

Six grandchildren of the late Nippon Paint tycoon and once Singapore’s richest man, Goh Cheng Liang, have become billionaires after inheriting stakes in a publicly traded firm. Credit: Facebook

Goh was the founder of Nippon Paint South East Asia, or Nipsea, which manages Asia Pacific’s biggest paint-making businesses.

Filings show that a 55 per cent stake in Tokyo-listed Nippon Paint Holdings, Japan’s biggest paint maker, was transferred from the family’s investment company, Wuthelam Holdings, in December to six of Goh’s eight grandchildren.

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They became holders in Nipsea International, each owning stakes worth more than $US1 billion, according to a calculation by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Goh’s son, Hup Jin, kept about 91 per cent of voting rights in Nipsea International, meaning he has de facto control of decision-making over the stake in the Tokyo-listed firm.

The filings didn’t show shares under Goh’s other son, Chuen Jin, or his daughter, Chiat Jin.

The structure indicates a clear succession plan that distributed a large amount of assets among the family’s third-generation heirs while separating voting control – a rare move among Asian dynasties. Hup Jin, 72, has been involved in the family business for decades.

“Asian wealth owners, compared to their Western counterparts, are more likely to pass their assets to the next generation only after their lifetimes,” said Ethan Chue, chief executive officer and founder of Family Succession Advisers in Singapore.

Some “do transfer their wealth to their children during their lifetimes, with a portion of them choosing to transfer some wealth directly to their grandchildren – usually in families where certain assets have already been gifted to the second generation”.

Goh Cheng Liang (second from right) was born in poverty and built an empire that made him the second-wealthiest person in Singapore,Credit: Facebook

An external press officer for the Goh family declined to comment on the stake distribution. Nippon Paint Holdings’ press office also declined to comment on the stake distribution. It said the family preferred not to participate in any media interview regarding the matter.

Diverse interests

Hup Jin is the father of Charlotte, Henrietta and Victoria. Chuen Jin is the father of April and two other children. Chiat Jin is the mother of Martin Yuen-An Lavoo and Johan Zhong An Lavoo.

April Goh received the biggest stake of the six grandchildren, worth about $US3.4 billion, filings show. Her father, Chuen Jin, is a retired adjunct professor of mathematics from an Australian university. Both declined to comment.

April is a fellow at the Columbia University China Centre for Social Policy in New York, with a focus on gender-based violence. She formerly worked in finance.

She is holding assets for two of her siblings, according to a person familiar with the matter.

April is one of several Goh family members who appeared in a Chinese TV program broadcast in December, in which they visited the late billionaire’s ancestral home in a village in Teochew, an area in China’s southern Guangdong province.

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In the same TV program, Charlotte Goh Hui Huang, one of Hup Jin’s three daughters, said her grandfather was “very proud to be Chinese — he carried it in his blood”.

Hup Jin’s three daughters were granted a stake worth about $US1.1 billion each.

Eleven years ago, Charlotte co-founded a foundation that provides scholarships, tutoring, health care and counselling to children in Bali, according to its website.

Her sisters are Victoria and Henrietta. Charlotte declined to comment. Victoria and Henrietta did not reply to requests for comment.

Charlotte and another grandchild are listed as owners of two separate mansions in an upscale Singapore residential area that has some of the city-state’s largest private homes.

Goh’s only daughter, Chiat Jin, has been on the board of the Goh Foundation for more than two decades. It was set up in 1995 to support educational scholarships and medical research, filings show. Her eldest son, Martin Yuen-An Lavoo, 38, is the only one of the six grandchildren who appears in the filings as a director of Nipsea International.

Over a decade ago, Martin Lavoo helped co-found Sustenir Agriculture, a super-foods vertical farms start-up that has been backed by Temasek Holdings. He had worked before in finance and sales. “I’m just a regular guy that has decided to risk it all on trying something completely new,” he said in an interview published on the website Empirics Asia in 2015.

Chiat Jin, Martin and Johan Lavoo also appear in the same video. They didn’t reply to requests for comment.

A worker collects a sample of paint for quality control at the Nippon Paint plant in Qingyuan,China.Credit: Bloomberg

Paint empire

Goh Cheng Liang had an estimated fortune of $US13.2 billion when he died on August 12. The tycoon, who was born in poverty and built an empire that made him the second-wealthiest person in Singapore, was known for keeping a relatively low profile throughout his life. His heirs have also kept similar discretion.

Luxury boats were among the reclusive late billionaire’s few overt splurges. His collection included White Rabbit Golf, an 84-metre super yacht.

Already a billionaire, Goh saw his family’s wealth catapulted in 2021 after Wuthelam took a majority stake in Nippon Paint Holdings. Still, a prolonged decline in Nippon Paint’s stock after that took a toll on Goh’s estimated net worth.

Goh was “a humble and private man” who loved spending time with his grandchildren and enjoyed boating, fishing, savouring good food and travelling, according to a press release by Wuthelam on the day of his death.

“My father was a beacon of kindness and strength,” Hup Jin said in the statement. “We are very fortunate to have had him show us how to be a good person.”

Bloomberg

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