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How Nippon Paint tycoon Goh Cheng Liang grew his empire to a US$13 billion fortune
[SINGAPORE] Singapore's richest man Goh Cheng Liang, who died this week, kept a low profile for years compared with his other billionaire counterparts.
The self-made tycoon, who was 98 when he died, started his business empire through a 1962 partnership with Nippon Paint.
In 2021, both parties sealed a 1.3 trillion yen (S$11.3 billion) deal that made Goh's corporation, Wuthelam, the owner of a nearly 60 per cent stake in the Japanese paint giant.
Between 1962 – when Nippon Paint first partnered Wuthelam – and the early 2000s, their joint venture Nipsea rapidly entered several Asian markets, including Malaysia, China and South Korea.
Singapore's Raffles Hotel and the Loha Prasat temple in Bangkok are among the famous buildings coated with its paint products.
Beyond his paint empire, Goh had other ventures. He developed the former Liang Court – located at Clarke Quay – in the 1980s, as well as Mount Elizabeth Hospital. Both were sold later. Wuthelam also has investments in other industries such as agriculture and consulting services, according to PitchBook.
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Goh also had a passion for luxury boats and collected superyachts – many of which he named White Rabbit, according to the South China Morning Post. This included the 84-metre White Rabbit Golf, the world's largest trimaran (tri-hull) superyacht.
The media-shy tycoon stood on Forbes' list of Singapore's richest for years, topping it in 2025. The bulk of his US$13 billion net worth is derived from his controlling stake in Nippon Paint, according to Forbes estimates.
Today, his company Wuthelam manages various assets.
Here's a timeline of how Goh built up his wealth:
1928: Born to humble beginnings in colonial Singapore, Goh's childhood was spent in a rented shophouse room on River Valley Road. He lived there with his parents, three sisters and a brother until he was 12.
He worked as a rubber tapper as well as a salesman of fishnets in Muar, Malaysia, during World War II, before returning to Singapore in 1943.
1949: Goh launched paint brand Pigeon Brand, having bought cheap paint from British troops auctioning off surplus war supplies, which he turned into his own paint line.
1955: Established his first paint shop in pre-independence Singapore and became the main local distributor for Nippon Paint.
1962: Goh set up Wuthelam in the early 1960s, according to PitchBook. The company established a joint venture with Nippon – the Nipsea (Nippon Southeast Asia) business – in 1962.
1965: Nippon established its first paint manufacturing plant in Singapore.
1979: Mount Elizabeth Hospital, developed by Wuthelam, opened in December.
Early 1980s: Liang Court, developed by Wuthelam, opened in January 1984.
1990: Goh hired former Hewlett-Packard Singapore head Koh Boon Hwee to run his companies Liang Court and Omni Industries, which were then listed in Singapore.
1991: Set up Yenom Holdings to house employees displaced by an organisational revamp carried out by Koh.
Within six years, Yenom expanded into various businesses , including the New Zealand Gulf Harbour project, Risis Orchid, TungLok Shark's Fin restaurant and the Sala Levu resort in Fiji.
1995: Established the Goh Foundation with the late Singapore president Wee Kim Wee.
The foundation helped establish the National Cancer Centre in Singapore and contributed to its later expansion, as well as supported underprivileged students, cancer research and welfare agencies.
It awarded significant grants to support children's cancer research at KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Viva Foundation and the National University Hospital.
As a cancer survivor himself, Goh ensured that the foundation contributed towards catalysing medical research that aimed at improving cancer treatment outcomes.
Beyond Singapore, Goh's philanthropy extended to China. There, he financed the construction of roads, clean water supplies, sanitation systems and several schools in his ancestral home of Dawu Village in Chaozhou city.
2014: The Goh family raised their stake in Nippon Paint from 15 per cent to 39 per cent, becoming the largest shareholder in the Osaka-based paintmaker.
Wuthelam's minority holdings in Nipsea reached a valuation of US$4.1 billion as at 2015.
2021: Wuthelam Group took a majority stake in Nippon Paint for US$12 billion.
The deal boosted Wuthelam's fortune to US$24 billion from US$16 billion, according to Bloomberg's Billionaires Index, and gave the company control of Nippon Paint.
2022: Goh donated S$6.35 million to the SingHealth Duke-NUS Supportive and Palliative Care Centre to improve quality of life for terminally ill patients.
2024: Nippon Paint acquired US chemical producer AOC from private equity firm Lone Star Funds for US$2.3 billion.
With a US$12.7 billion net worth, Goh was Singapore's second-richest man, according to Forbes.
2025: Goh became the Republic's richest man with a US$13 billion net worth, Forbes estimated.
