AN ACADEMIC in New York and the founder of a Bali charity are among six billionaires that 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, and each has inherited stakes in a publicly traded firm worth more than US$1 billion (RM4.21 billion) per person.
The handover of the fortune marks an unusual transfer of assets for an ultra-rich Asian family that has skipped one generation.
Goh was the founder of Nippon Paint South East Asia, or Nipsea, which manages Asia-Pacific’s biggest paint-making businesses.
Filings showed that a 55% stake in Tokyo-listed Nippon Paint Holdings Co, Japan’s biggest paint maker, was transferred from the family’s investment company, Wuthelam Holdings Pte Ltd, in December to six of Goh’s eight grandchildren.
They became holders in Nipsea International Ltd, each owning stakes worth more than US$1 billion, according to a calculation by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Goh’s son, Hup Jin, kept about 91% 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 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, the chief executive officer and founder of Family Succession Advisors 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”.
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, and added that the family prefers not to participate in any media interview regarding the matter.
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 US$3.4 billion, filings showed. 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 Center for Social Policy in New York, with a focus on gender-based violence, and 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 programme 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.
In the same TV programme, 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 US$1.1 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, while 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 showed. Her eldest son, Martin Yuen-An Lavoo, 38, is the only one of the six grandchildren that 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 Pte Ltd.
He had worked before in finance and sales. “I am 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 appeared in the same video. They didn’t reply to requests for comment.
Goh Cheng Liang had an estimated fortune of US$13.2 billion when he died on Aug 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, with his heirs also keeping similar discretion.
Luxury boats were among the reclusive late billionaire’s few overt splurges.
His collection included White Rabbit Golf, an 84-metre (276ft) 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.”
