Goh Cheng Liang (; born 1927) is a Singaporean

billionaire A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least one billion (1,000,000,000, i.e., a thousand million) units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. The American busin ...

businessman who founded Wuthelam Holdings, which manufactures paint and coatings.

Early life

Goh Cheng Liang was born in Singapore. He is the son of Wu Songchang and Li Xiuying. He grew up in poverty and sold fishnets and rubber tapper for income. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he began buying cheap paint from the British army which he turned into a local company.

Career

He set up his first paint shop there in Singapore in 1955, and became the main distributor there for

Nippon Paint is a Japanese paint and paint products manufacturing company. It is the fourth largest paint manufacturer globally based on revenue in 2020. History The company, was founded in 1881 by Jujiro Motegi under the name Komyosha(Yamato Jujiro Shot ...

in 1962. Wuthelam Holdings, which has interests in the paint business and property development, was founded in 1974 as a real estate concern. In 2020, his son

Goh Hup Jin Goh Hup Jin (traditional Chinese: 吳學人; born 1952/1953) is a Singaporean businessman, and the chairman of Nippon Paint since March 2018. Early life Goh Hup Jin is the son of Goh Cheng Liang, a Singaporean billionaire. Goh earned a bachelo ...

helped conclude a deal which enabled Wuthelam Holdings to formally take control of Nippon paint. The merger added approximately $3.8bn to his overall networth. According to

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

, his net worth stands at $18.6 billion as of 2021, making him the second richest person in Singapore.

Personal life

Goh Cheng Liang lives in Singapore. His Goh Foundation has made large donations to several charitable causes. He has a son, Goh Hup Jin, who has been the chairman of Nippon Paint since March 2018 and runs their privately held joint venture, Nipsea.

References

1920s births Living people Singaporean businesspeople Singaporean billionaires Singaporean people of Chinese descent Singaporean people of Teochew descent {{Singapore-business-bio-stub