Ong Beng Seng

Dato' Ong Beng Seng (Chinese: 王明星; pinyin: Wáng Míng Xīng born January 1946) is a Singaporean billionaire businessman and husband of Christina Ong. He is the founder of the Singapore-based organisation Hotel Properties, and a shareholder in many businesses. Forbes estimates the net worth of Ong and his wife at $1.8 billion (as of July 2014), making them the 15th richest people in Singapore.[2]

Yang Berbahagia Dato'

Ong Beng Seng
BornJanuary 1946 (age 74)
Malaysia
NationalitySingaporean
OccupationBusinessman
Net worthUS$2.1 billion (May 2017)[1]
Spouse(s)Christina Ong
Children2

Early life

Ong was born in January 1946,[3] in Malaysia. When he was four years old, his family relocated to Singapore. His career began when he joined an insurance firm for ships. In 1975, he joined Kuo International, founded by businessman Peter Fu Yun Siak and there he met his later-to-be spouse, Christina.[4]

Career

After beginning his trading career at Kuo International, Ong went on to found his own firm, Hotel Properties Limited. Today, he controls many businesses, including a few based in Bond Street in London, and his investments are worth tens of millions of dollars.[4] He is a well-established hotelier, having bought and built many hotels worldwide.[4] Ong is credited as one among the few who brought the Singapore Grand Prix to the country, the first Formula One night race.[5]

Personal life

A "glitzy figure in Singapore and abroad",[4] Ong is married to Christina Ong (née Fu), the daughter of a businessman. They have two children, a daughter and a son.[4] Ong was described by Hilary Clarke of The Independent as "media shy" and "notoriously secretive".[4] Despite that, he is known to be well-acquainted with many Hollywood celebrities.[4]

Wealth

Ong's business approach is to "[b]uy when rents and properties are cheap and sell when they are not."[4] As of July 2012, the Ong family, comprising Ong and his wife, is worth $1.6 billion, based on estimates by Forbes, making the couple Singapore's 10th richest persons.[6]

gollark: That would be impractical and probably bad?
gollark: > you basically have lawyers who are experts in convincing people convince people who dont know the subject about things.Yes, hence government and legal system often bad.
gollark: Economic power is very related to political power.
gollark: Yes it does.
gollark: Governments actually having some input from the organizations they deal with and regulate is important, but it's also bad if you end up having large companies benefit themselves at the expense of smaller ones and/or people.

References
  1. "Ong Beng Seng and Christina Ong". Forbes.com. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  2. Forbes, "Singapore's 50 Richest: #15 Ong Beng Seng & Christina Ong"
  3. "Ong Beng Seng ONG - Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)". Beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  4. Clarke, Hilary (29 March 1998). "Profile: Beng Seng and Christina Ong: Asian pair sell west, buy east". The Independent.
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 24 January 2012. Retrieved 5 June 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. "Ong Beng Seng & Christina Ong". Forbes. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
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