This story is part of Forbes' coverage of Singapore's Richest 2022. See the full list here.
Unfazed by two years of pandemic-induced losses, Ong Beng Seng, managing director of Singapore-listed Hotel Properties, which owns such landmarks as the Four Seasons hotel in Singapore, has been busy ramping up.
In May, Hotel Properties and state-owned Temasek won a seven-month bidding race against Keppel to acquire a string of commercial properties (including shopping malls in Singapore and Australia) from media giant Singapore Press Holdings for about S$3.9 billion ($2.8 billion).
Earlier in January, the company opened voco Orchard Singapore, the refurbished and rebranded former Hilton Singapore. With the easing of travel restrictions, hotel occupancies and room rates in the city-state are surging as tourists return. It is now gearing up for the Singapore Grand Prix-a Formula 1 race organized by Ong's privately held Singapore GP-set to take place in September after a two-year hiatus.
Hotel Properties is expanding outside its home turf too. Last year, the company bought Kanuhura Maldives-81 villas on Lhaviyani Atoll, about 150km north of the country's capital Male-for an undisclosed sum, which will open next year. In 2023, the company also plans to open a 150-room hotel in Dubrovnik, Croatia, as it makes inroads into Europe's fast-growing tourism market.
These moves are paying off. The company returned to the black with a net profit of S$1.9 million in the first half of 2022. Ong and his wife Christina are ranked at No. 24, with a combined net worth of $1.75 billion, up 2% since last year. Ong, who cofounded Hotel Properties more than four decades ago, oversees strategic planning and business development, while Christina runs Como Hotels and Resorts, a luxury chain she founded.