From $3,000 loan to multi-billion dollar empire: Meet Robert Kuok, 'Sugar King' of Asia

When he was a young man, Malaysian tycoon Robert Kuok took a $3,000 loan from the Johor royal family to start his business. It was just after World War II ended.

As Kuok turned 101 years old on October 6, 2024, he has become known as Asia’s “Sugar King” and hotel magnate, with a net worth of $17.4 billion, as per Bloomberg.

His business interests (collectively known as the Kuok Group) range from sugarcane plantations, sugar refineries, flour milling, animal feed, oil, mining, financial services, hotel, real estate, trading and shipping.

Robert Kuok's immense fortune is anchored by a stake in Wilmar International, a publicly-traded palm oil giant.

Beyond commodities, Kuok’s Shangri-La Group stands as a symbol of luxury, with over 100 hotels spanning 78 destinations.

Despite his towering influence across Southeast Asia’s business landscape, Kuok is a master of discretion — eschewing the spotlight, guarding his privacy, and letting his legacy speak volumes.

Humble beginnings

Born in 1923 in the small southern Malaysian state of Johor, Robert Kuok’s rise to the pinnacle of business seemed improbable.

The youngest of three brothers, he inherited not wealth but values — hard work, determination, and an unrelenting spirit — from his father Kuok Keng Kang (born: December 1893), a modest trader from China’s Fujian province.

Tragedy strikes

Kuok started his career as an office boy, then worked as a clerk in a rice-trading company, and was eventually promoted to head the department.

When World War II ended, tragedy struck with the death of their father in 1948. Kuok and his brothers then took the reins of the family’s rice distribution business.

The Kuok Group began business in 1949 as Kuok Brothers in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, as a small family business trading rice, sugar and wheat flour. From this humble starting point, Kuok envisioned a future that few could imagine.

As the company expanded within the region, Kuok Singapore was founded in 1953. and the Hong Kong office was established in 1974 as Kerry Holdings. 

'Sugar King' of Asia

In 1959, he launched Malayan Sugar Manufacturing, setting the stage for his dominance in the sugar industry. With an audacious drive, Kuok soon controlled 60 per cent of Malaysia’s sugar supply and 10 per cent of the global market, earning the title “Sugar King of Asia.”

His rise as king of the sweet commodity was not a walk in the park.

Kuok remembers that in 1963, he made a bold move. “I became too bold. Around May or June, I took 100,000 to 200,000 tonnes of sugar, in preparation for the futures market. I thought the market would grow, and we would make big money. But in July and August, the market fell sharply,” he told CCTV "Dialogue" in 2013.

He was admitted getting nervous, but persevered.

“I couldn’t fix this critical situation. At the end of August, a major typhoon hit Cuba, causing a major damage to sugarcane plantations and granulated sugar output there. Cuba’s output, at 5.5 million tonnes, then was a very important component of the global sugar market." The price of sugar recovered, and saved Kuok's business.

Kouk's Hong Kong office was established in 1974 as Kerry Holdings.

Beyond commodities, Kuok’s Shangri-La Group stands as a symbol of luxury, with over 100 hotels spanning 78 destinations. Despite his towering influence across Southeast Asia’s business landscape, Kuok is a master of discretion — eschewing the spotlight, guarding his privacy, and letting his legacy speak volumes.

Building empires

Kuok’s rise coincided with seismic shifts in the region. The end of British colonial rule presented new opportunities, and Kuok’s business acumen allowed his family to flourish in industries like palm oil and agribusiness.

Incidentaly, Kuok also studied at English College Johore Bahru for his secondary education and later at Raffles Institution in Singapore where he was classmates with Lee Kuan Yew, the founding father of Singapore and the country's first prime minister.

He established Kuok Singapore in 1953 and expanded his influence into Hong Kong and China through Kerry Holdings, a venture that became pivotal in managing the group’s sprawling empire.

He didn’t stop there.

Shipping, aviation

Kuok then ventured into shipping, founding Malaysia’s first shipping firm, MISC, in the 1960s, and later created Pacific Carriers in Singapore.

His contributions even touched aviation, as he chaired Malaysia-Singapore Airlines, which later split into the iconic flag carriers Malaysia Airlines and Singapore Airlines.

The birth of Shangri-La

In 1971, Kuok’s vision took a luxurious turn with the creation of Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts.

What began as a single hotel in Singapore grew into a global luxury brand, boasting over 100 properties across 78 destinations.

For Kuok, hospitality was about more than luxury — it was about creating memorable experiences. “I want (customers) to go away happy and satisfied,” he wrote in his memoir, emphasising fairness over profit.

Philanthropy

Despite his staggering wealth — now estimated at $17.4 billion — Kuok remains grounded. “Success is not about how much money you make, but about how much you can give back to society,” he was quoted by Tatler Asia.

This ethos drives the Kuok Foundation, which supports education, poverty alleviation, and community development.

Even as he stepped back from day-to-day operations in the 1990s, Kuok’s legacy endures through his family and the countless lives his philanthropy has touched.

His reflections on wealth, humility, and purpose reveal the essence of his philosophy: “Learn to live simply. Genuine humility must be inner humility, guided by compassion towards your fellow beings.”

Loan backstory

The story about the loan was told by Tunku Azizah Aminah to local Chinese media in Malaysia in a 2019 interview.

Kuok’s parents at that time supplied daily necessities to the military, adding that the Johor royal family was naturally in close contact with him. She remembered that it was after World War II when the young Kuok asked for the loan.

“One day, Robert Kuok came to find us, requesting to borrow 3,000 dollars, to let him start an enterprise,” said Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah binti Almarhum Sultan Iskandar Al-Haj.

Tunku Azizah, the daughter of the late Johor ruler, and the sister of current Johor ruler Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar, 65, who became the 17th king of Malaysia on January 31, 2024.

“I don’t really recall the details, but I know my grandmother took my father’s — Sultan Iskandar — savings to lend to Robert Kuok to let him start his business…I believe he has already returned the money. At that time, 3,000 dollars is a very large sum. My father at that time was only a child, to be able to have 3,000 dollars in savings was quite remarkable,” she was quoted saying by Sin Chew Daily.

[The Malaysian Ringgit name was introduced in 1975. In 1993, the currency symbol "RM" (Ringgit Malaysia) was introduced to replace the use of the dollar sign "$" (or "M$")].

She said she mentioned the incident to Kuok when she met him in Hong Kong years later when he was already successful. “He still remembered, but he candidly told me he really did not know it was Sultan Iskandar’s savings... really did not know,” she told the daily.