Wee Cho Yaw Net Worth, Biography and Career

Wee Cho Yaw Net Worth $8.3 Billion

Dr. Wee Cho Yaw is a highly regarded figure in Singapore and internationally. He is a visionary, banker extraordinaire, and celebrated pioneer who in 2018, retired from the United Overseas Bank (UOB) Board after more than 6 decades at the helm of the company.

Under his leadership and management, the UOB Group became one of the top banks in Asia. During his term as the chairman and chief executive officer of the group, the Bank’s network expanded from 70 to over 500 branches and offices around the world and its assets increased from 2 billion dollars to more than 253 billion dollars through his pursuit of sustainable growth.

He continues to serve as an honorary adviser and chairman emeritus of the UOB Group to share his wealth of knowledge and insight with the Board and Management. More details follow below.

Early Life: Childhood, Education, Family

Wee was born on 10 January 1929 in Kinmen, Fujian, China. His mother was the second wife of Chinese businessman Wee Kheng Chiang. In 1937, when Wee was seven years old, he fled with his family to Kuching in Borneo to save their lives from the Sino-Japanese War. He stayed with the family of his father’s first wife for one year before moving to Singapore.

In Singapore, he attended Gong Shang Primary School before joining The Chinese High School. The Japanese invasion of Singapore disrupted Wee’s education, and he spent most of the Japanese Occupation in Karimun in Indonesia with his family.

After the Japanese Occupation, he returned to Singapore and continued his studies at Chung Cheng High School. However, his father pulled him out of school following investigations by the British authorities for his involvement in anti-colonial politics.

Professional Life: Early Start, Banking Career

In 1949, Wee started working at his family’s business called Kheng Leong, which traded commodities such as flour, rubber, and pepper. He maintained a close relationship with his father from whom he learned the ways of business.

Assisted by the wide range of connections and contacts of his millionaire father, Wee became a director on the board of United Chinese Bank (UCB) in 1958. His father was the founder of the bank in 1935. Wee spent several months working with a British bank in London to polish his skills and learn its operations, before returning to his role at UCB.

In 1960, his father, Wee Kheng Chiang, resigned from his role as the managing director of UCB and Wee assumed the position. The bank had dealt only with local businesses previously, but Wee moved it into international trade financing and foreign exchange.

In 1964 UCB was renamed United Overseas Bank (UOB) when it applied to open a branch in Hong Kong to avoid a clash of names with an already existing bank there. Under Wee’s management, UOB expanded its branch network all over Singapore and in other countries.

The bank further diversified into the finance business, realty, property, insurance, merchant banking, and lease financing.

Wee was appointed vice-chairman in 1971 a year after the bank went public. In June 1971, the bank acquired 49 percent of the Chung Khiaw Bank in a S$22 million deal that saw UOB beat more than six competitors to the deal which doubled UOB’s size, creating the second-biggest banking group in Malaysia and Singapore and Malaysia. After UOB got listed on the Hong Kong exchange in 1972, it acquired Lee Wah Bank.

When his father retired as chairman of UOB in 1974, Wee assumed this responsibility as well, and by the end of the 1970s, he was the chairman of the Chinese newspaper Sin Chew Jit Poh, and Haw Par Brothers International. He also sat on the boards of Sime Darby and Straits Steamship Company, and the Development Bank of Singapore (DBS).

Other acquisitions made by the UOB group include Far Eastern Bank, the Industrial and Commercial Bank, the Overseas Union Bank (OUB), and several hotels and shopping malls.

Achievements: Awards & Honors

Mr. Wee has earned a number of accolades for his business accomplishments and support of the business community, education, and community welfare. Among the awards he has received to date, are the Distinguished Service Order, Singapore National Day Award, ASEAN Business Advisory Council Legacy Award for Singapore.

An Honorary Doctor of Letters from the Nanyang Technological University, and another Honorary Doctor of Letters from the National University of Singapore. He has been named Singapore Businessman of the Year twice, in 1990 and in 2001.

In 2006, he received a Credit Suisse-Ernst & Young Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to the banking sector. He has also been identified as Singapore’s wealthiest individual by Bloomberg Billionaires Index and Forbes magazine.

Wee Cho Yaw Net Worth: Salary, Income Sources, Assets

Mr. Wee Cho Yaw has a net worth of 8.3 billion dollars which enables him to claim the number one spot as the richest businessperson in Singapore. Wee grew up in a banking family led by his father, the founder of the United Overseas Bank.

Most of Wee’s wealth has come from his involvement in his family’s business. He became part of the bank’s board of directors in 1958, was appointed as managing director in 1960, and took the chief executive officer position in 1974.

In addition to his bank interests, Mr. Wee has also invested in a number of other profitable businesses which all continue to bolster his fortune.