Known now as Singapore’s richest man, it could not have been more different at the start of Goh Cheng Liang’s life. He spent the first twelve years of his life sharing a one room shop house in River Valley, Singapore with his parents, a brother and three sisters. After returning from Malaya, where he spent the war, he set up his first business, selling aerated water. Unfortunately, this venture failed, and he made his living working in a hardware store. Always with an eye for a deal, Goh bought several barrels of “rotten” paint from the British army, and after a while had created not just his own paint but his own Pigeon Brand Paints. When the Korean war broke out the following year, imports were hugely restricted, and his business boomed.

After being made director of Nippon Paints in 1959, he proceeded to grow the company until it was the largest paint manufacturer in Asia. In 1974 he set up Wuthelam Holdings, which as well as paints also has interests in real estate, and in 1991 Yenom Holdings which deals in many industries including property, F&B and resorts.

Today Nippon Paints is the fourth largest manufacturer of paint in the world, and Goh has become known for his generosity, particularly in his donations to cancer charities in Singapore. His one extravagance is his love of luxury vessels, and owns several yachts and catamarans.