When the tycoon passed away last month at the age of 98, he left behind a sprawling family and a vast fortune estimated by Forbes at US$13 billion.
He owned a majority stake in Nippon Paint, the world’s fourth-largest paint maker, through his Singapore-based investment firm Wuthelam Holdings.
He also founded Nippon Paint South East Asia (Nipsea), now Asia Pacific’s leading paint and coatings manufacturer.
According to filings cited by Bloomberg, Wuthelam last December transferred a 55% stake in Nippon Paint to six of his eight grandchildren.
Those heirs include April Goh, one of the children of his younger son Chuen Jin; Charlotte, Henrietta and Victoria Goh, daughters of his eldest son Hup Jin; and Martin Yuen-An Lavoo and Johan Zhong An Lavoo, children of his only daughter Chiat Jin.
The stake inherited by each of them is valuable enough to turn all six into billionaires.
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Goh Cheng Liang, founder of Nippon Paint South East Asia (Nipsea). Photo from Nippon Paint Malaysia’s Facebook |
Hup Jin’s three daughters each received stakes worth around $1.1 billion. Charlotte is known to have co-founded a Bali-based foundation that provides scholarships, tutoring, health care and counseling to local children.
She and another third-generation heir also own two mansions in a luxury residential neighborhood in Singapore.
Each of Chiat Jin’s children, Martin and Johan, also inherited a stake valued at around $1.1 billion.
The older son, Martin, had previously worked in finance and helped establish Temasek-backed vertical farming startup Sustenir Agriculture. He is currently the only one among the six heirs to be listed as a director of Nipsea International.
Chuen Jin’s daughter April got the largest portion of the inheritance, worth about $3.4 billion. A source familiar with the matter said she is holding assets on behalf of her two siblings.
April is currently a fellow at Columbia University’s China Center for Social Policy in New York, focusing on gender-based violence, and has previously worked in finance.
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April Goh, one of Goh Cheng Liang’s grandchildren. Photo courtesy of Columbia University’s China Center for Social Policy |
Although six grandchildren inherited multibillion-dollar stakes, effective control of the family’s holdings remains with Hup Jin, who has been involved in steering both Nipsea and Wuthelam since the 1980s. Now 72, he retains about 91% of the voting rights in Nipsea International, giving him decisive influence over the company. Filings did not disclose shares allocated to his siblings.
By passing down assets directly to the third generation while separating voting power, the family adopted an uncommon succession approach compared to those of other Asian family empires.
Born in colonial Singapore in 1927, Goh started his rags-to-riches journey in a cramped room in a River Valley Road shophouse with his poor parents and four siblings. He later helped his brother-in-law sell fishing nets in then-Malaya and later returned home to start a paint venture called Pigeon Brand.
He opened his first paint shop in 1955 and had his first big break a few years later, when his firm became the main distributor of Nippon Paint in Singapore, according to The Business Times.
He also invested part of his wealth into property, developing Mount Elizabeth Hospital and Liang Court, both of which were later sold, as well as residential and commercial projects across Singapore, Hong Kong, China, and the U.S. Through Wuthelam, he also expanded into sectors such as agriculture and consulting.
Goh died peacefully with family members by his side. He is fondly remembered for his philanthropy and as a hard-working and caring boss.
“He (Goh) believed in living life to the fullest and loved spending time with his grandchildren, as well as enjoying activities like boating, fishing, savouring good food and travelling,” his family said in a statement cited by Channel News Asia.
“To him, wealth was a means to a happy and meaningful life while making a positive impact on others.”
