Money Talks – it’s not everything, but everything is money

By any standards, an amazing rags to riches life story – so much so that I’ve ordered his autobiography.

Consider these:
- has only a limited education background.
- he did not speak English, converses only in Hokkien and some Malay.
- he had no knowledge in engineering
- came to Malaysia (then Malaya) at 19, in February 1937 from China carrying a suitcase and some money in his pocket.
- he started out working as a trainee carpenter under his uncle
- later he become a building sub-contractor; helping to build a 2-storey school soon after.
- during Japanese occupation he planted vegetables, did petty trading, dealed in scrap metal and hardware.
- after the Japanese left, he got involved in second-hand machinery trading: made good profits.
- after that he was into iron mining and tin mining.
- 1950: set up Kien Huat Private Limited, a construction company: still stands today. This company became his platform to bigger jobs.
- 27 years after his arrival in Malaya, in 1964, he was working on a hydro project and as he gazed towards what is now Genting Highlands, he dreamed of building a resort up on the hills of Genting Sempah and Gunung Ulu Kali to rival Cameron Highlands. These areas were then relatively unheard of.
- he was already well off financially at that time, but still pursued his big dream. He put everything he had into that dream, selling off his assets even as his friends warned him to drop the idea
- at the worksite, he was the labourer, project manager and engineer all in one. He was also the trouble-shooter, doing all kinds of work and tackling all kinds of problems.
- he had close brushes with death 6 times during the construction, due to falling trees, driving mishaps and a landslide.
- he spent 7 years developing Genting. Failing to get others to invest in the project, he invested all his money in the project without getting any returns in the 7 years it took to build.
- he managed to build the access road towards the summit in three years when it was estimated to take fifteen years.
- while working on Genting, he had to work on another big project in Kelantan. He had to shuttle between Kuala Lumpur and Kelantan and he worked 7 days a week.
- he was almost bankrupt at one stage.
- the Genting project was completed in January 1971, but prior to officially commencing business, Kuala Lumpur and its surrounding areas were hit by the worst rainstorms in a century, the road to Genting was closed by landslides at 180 locations, the damaged sections took four months to repair. Genting finally opened its door for business on 8 May 1971.
- against all odds, he managed to get a license to operate a casino, still the only licensed casino in the country
- Genting Highlands is one of the most successful casino resorts in the world and is one of the primary tourist attractions in Malaysia.
- by the end of his life about 70 years after first arriving in Malaya, he was among the top 200 richest people in the world, with a net worth of USD4.2 billion in 2006. His company is Malaysia’s eighth-largest listed company, with interests in gaming, hotels and cruise lines from the U.K. to Hong Kong.

Source
various internet sources