Malaysia's 40 Richest - FORBES ASIA

The fortunes of the nation's tycoons are down, but there are signs of recovery.

By now it is not a surprise that the rich around the world are getting poorer. Malaysia is no exception: Its 40 wealthiest are worth $36 billion, down from $46 billion a year ago. That loss is largely in line with the 21% drop in the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index and not too bad considering the fact that the Malaysian ringgit has lost 10% against the U.S. dollar, the currency in which net worths are measured.

Malaysia's billionaires continue to dominate. The country's two richest people, Robert Kuok and Ananda Krishnan, both again No. 1 and No. 2, are worth a combined $16 billion and account for 44% of the top 40's wealth. The two, who have topped Forbes Asia's Malaysian rich list since it debuted in 2006, are also the two wealthiest in Southeast Asia. The country's nine billionaires are worth $30 billion, or 84% of the total, the biggest wealth disparity among any of Forbes Asia's other rich lists. Vincent Tan is the only Malaysian to have dropped out of the billionaire ranks in the past 12 months, as share prices in his companies declined.

There are signs of recovery. The nation's stock market index has been climbing in the past two months. Kuok's fortune is up $2 billion since March, when he appeared on the world's billionaires list. Five other billionaires have posted a combined $800 million in gains since then. Syed Mokhtar Albukhary, who lost his billionaire status earlier this year, is back up top, worth $1.1 billion, thanks to a rebound of his Malaysia Mining Corp. stock.

Three newcomers debut, thanks to the discovery of better or new information. They include software executive Goh Peng Ooi, ioi board member Chan Fong Ann and gaming tycoon Chen Lip Keong, who operates a casino in Cambodia and a tourism business in Malaysia.

Four people have returned to the ranks after an absence of a year or more. Among them are Syed Mohd Yusof Tun Syed Nasir and Tan Teong Hean, who cashed out of Southern Bank several years ago and are now making new investments. The minimum net worth to make the list is $90 million, down from $100 million last year. This is held by Kua Sian Kooi, executive chairman of Kurnia Asia, who made it to the last spot following a big rally in his insurance firm's stock, up 50% since the start of April.

Among those who dropped out of the ranks are several tycoons who barely missed the cut, including CIMB bank's Nazir Razak and OSK finance group's Ong Leong Huat. Malaysian citizen Ong Beng Seng, who has lived in Singapore for decades, is wealthy enough to qualify but stands to be listed among that nation's 40 richest in September, largely due to the fact that he and his wife, Christina, who is a citizen of Singapore, share a number of holdings.

The list was compiled using shareholder and financial information provided by individuals themselves, stock exchanges, public documents and analysts. For people with publicly traded documents, net worths were calculated using stock prices and exchange rates from May 15. Privately held fortunes were calculated using database company BRIS and other sources to estimate what companies and assets would be worth if public.