Paul Ho
The New Wealthy – Shifts towards Technology
Angeline C (iCompareLoan.com),
In 2015, sitting at the top of the Forbes list of Singapore’s richest was the Ng brothers – Robert & Philip Ng. The property siblings are better known as the sons of the late Mr Ng Teng Fong, who built Far East Organisation to what it is today.
The real estate tycoons are estimated to have a net worth of $8.7 billion according to Forbes. But what is notable, is the fact that their wealth had dropped by $2 billion amid the weak real estate market in Singapore.
Will they continue to hold this position? Or will the new wealthy catch up?
In truth, the Ng brothers even as widely regarded as very astute businessmen, can be said to have owed much of their current status to their father, who built up a portfolio of real estate assets and enjoyed the ride as land prices rose.
It may be more interesting perhaps to look at the new breed of entrepreneurs, who have climbed the ranks of the wealthy, and better yet, those who have made it to the top starting from scratch.
Most would be familiar with them by now.
At the regional level, we have Alibaba’s founder Jack Ma, Asia’s richest man.
His wealth is estimated at over US$33 billion according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index in 2015. Mr Ma has surpassed Hong Kong property tycoon Li Ka Shing, among others.
Chart 1: Asia’s Richest Man, Bloomberg Billionaires Index, 2015.
And sitting somewhere near the top of the world is Facebook founder Mark Zukerberg, who is now the sixth richest person in the world according to Forbes, which estimates his wealth at US$51.7 billion. This compares with his estimated networth of US$1.5 billion in 2008 according to Forbes.
The success of these entrepreneurs have left many people eager to learn from them so that they too may have a chance of becoming a millionaire or billionaire.
At first glance, we may surmise that this new breed of wealthy entrepreneurs seem to be involved in a tech start-up, which grew and blossomed into a global company.
Indeed, tech start-ups seem to be the big thing now with investors ploughing their money on them as traditional investments fail to excite and deliver their former average returns.
So, does the man on the street stand a chance at this route to wealth?
Mr Ma is known to be generous in sharing his success story and giving advice to wannabe entrepreneurs.
Here are some things we picked up on when reading his life story.
1. You don’t have to have a tech degree
Ma did not excel in school and managed to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in English after failing university entrance exams three times. In fact, Mr Ma does not know how to code.
2. Big dreams
Despite his lack of academic excellence, he dreamed of being an entrepreneur and made it happen.
3. You don’t have to be the first
Alibaba was started when there were already big players like Sina and Sohu.
4. Focus
Mr Ma was focused on small businesses when he first started out.
5. Don’t be afraid to stand out
Mr Ma had crazy ideas on how to motivate staff, including singing The Lion King’s theme song for his employees.
6. Pursuit of Lifelong Learning
Whether it is learning a new language like English when he was a kid or learning from his own failures when he first started out, Mr Ma’s success can be attributed to his pursuit of lifelong learning and of course humility. Despite of what he has achieved, he acknowledges that the young is key to leading a company towards success.
7. Be in the world’s biggest markets.
Most of the recent billionaires seem to have sprung up in large economies, such as the USA, China, India. If you are in Singapore, you stand little chance to become the next billionaire unless you quickly set foot in China, USA or India.
