Malaysian tycoon Tan Sri Robert Kuok who has many businesses, including Hong Kong property and media interests, and most notably palm oil giant Wilmar, continues to maintain his lead position as Malaysia’s richest man in the latest Forbes Asia’s rich list. According to Forbes Asia, he increased his net worth from US$2.4 billion last year to hit US$10 billion.

The latest ranking list also saw Berjaya Corp’s Tan Sri Vincent Tan joining the billionaires’ club. There are 10 billionaires in the list this year, where Tan, who rose from 14th to ninth position, has a net worth of US$1.3 billion, up nearly US$1 billion from last year. Forbes Asia said Tans company, Berjaya Corporation, had bucked the trend with its stock price up nearly three-fold over the past 12 months. Still in second place is Ananda Krishnan who heads telecom company Maxis but his wealth drop to US$7.2 billion, which is US$200 million less than last year.

The third richest in the list is IOI Corporation’s group executive chairman Tan Sri Lee Shin Cheng who was ranked fourth last year but as the oil palm plantation giant soared in value, his wealth rose from US$1.6 billion to US$5.5 billion, Among the newcomers is Datuk Nazir Razak, group chief executive of CIMB Group and the youngest son of second Prime Minister, the late Tun Abdul Razak Hussein. Nazir managed to scrape into the 40th position as the last richest Malaysian in Forbes Asia’s top 40 with a net worth of US$100 million.

While 16 people managed to add to their wealth, 18 saw their net worth slipped, with seven of them losing at least a quarter of their worth. Tan Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary, the richest Malay tycoon and a billionaire, dropped one position from seventh to eighth after his net worth was reduced by US$200 million to US$1.8 billion.

The top 10 richest in Malaysia list:

1. Robert Kuok, US$10 billion.

2. Ananda Krishnan, US$7.2 billion.

3. Lee Shin Cheng, US$5.5 billion.

4. Teh Hong Piow, US$3.5 billion.

5. Lee Kim Hua & family, US$3.4 billion.

6. Quek Leng Chan, US$2.4 billion.

7. Yeoh Tiong Lay & family, US$2.1 billion.

8. Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary, US$1.8 billion.

9. Vincent Tan, US$1.3 billion.

10. Tiong Hiew King, US$1.1 billion.