Wong Yip Yan

Wong Yip Yan
Born 1946 (age 69–70)[1]
Residence Singapore[1]
Other names Y.Y. Wong
Citizenship Singapore
Organization Wywy Group of Companies
Spouse(s) Geok Choo[2]
Children 3

Wong Yip Yan, also known as Y.Y. Wong, is an influential Singaporean Chinese businessman, and founder of the Wywy Group of Companies.[1][3][4] According to Businessweek, the Wywy Group controlled 76 companies and had annual sales of over $900 million.[1]

Wong retained 100% ownership until the group was sold in the late 1990s.[1] While Wong is a billionaire,[5][6] his exact net worth is unknown.

Career

When Wong was 26, he became the first Singaporean director at Borneo Company Limited, a British trading company. Wong said his boss told him that a Chinese couldn't get promoted to the company's main board of directors, causing Wong to start his own business.[1]

To start the Wywy Group, Wong got funding from executives of Fujifilm, who had worked with Wong at Borneo. They helped him get a credit line of $178,000 from The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, which allowed him to start the Wywy Group as a distributor of copy machines.[1]

Wong also served as the Chairman of Yeo Hiap Seng, Singapore's largest drink manufacturer.[7]

Family

Wong is married and has three grown children.[2] Wong's oldest son, Dr. Wong Meng Ee, contracted retinitis pigmentosa when he was 11 years old.[1] The condition resulted in permanent blindness. Dr. Wong Meng Ee is currently the president of the Retinitis Pigmentosa Society Singapore.[8]

Wong is the brother of Wong Yip Chong and uncle of Wong Meng Cheong. Meng Cheong is a prominent Singaporean physician who famously took his father's mistress to court over his $7 million house after his passing. He ultimately lost his case against his father's mistress.[9]

Education

Wong is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Y.Y. Wong Owns 76 Companies And He's Still Hungry". Businessweek. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 "Directors". The International Forum. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  3. ↑ "Company Overview of Wywy Group of Companies". Businessweek. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  4. ↑ "Dr Yip-Yan Wong". Wolfson College. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  5. ↑ REMPEL, WILLIAM; MILLER, ALAN. "Chung Details Alleged Chinese Funding Scheme". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  6. ↑ ABRAMSON, JILL; MARCUS, BRAUCHLI. "Old Friends of Clinton Use Ties To Form Asian Business Links". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  7. ↑ "TEA FOR TWO". Asiaweek. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  8. ↑ "About Us". Retinitis Pigmentosa Society Singapore. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  9. ↑ "Sons lose $7 million house to father's mistress". Asia One. Asia One. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
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