Invisible Billionaire Walking Alone

“While he may build or own hotel icons around the world, from The Plaza in New York to The Biltmore Mayfair in London, from the Grand Hyatt in Taipei to the Hilton in Seoul, he slips through his daily life in Singapore largely undisturbed and unmolested in public. Hardly anyone ever approaches him for a photograph or an autograph. In his younger days, it was common to see the tycoon brisk-walking alone down Robinson Road or Cecil Street in the Singapore financial district as he skipped between meetings in buildings he owned. He has never had a bodyguard and flies commercial. “Singapore Airlines is safer than private jets,” he explained.”

“even as his family business Hong Leong enjoys a household name status in Singapore and Malaysia, and his flagship CDL company is held up as a blue-chip bellweather stock on the Singapore stock exchange, Kwek is a man seldom heard in public and even less often seen. A favourite story among business circles was how he was shooed away by the security guard at his own Orchard Hotel in Singapore after turning up one day in a new car. His staff recognised his wheels, not his face.”