WHO IS ONG BENG SENG?
Ong Beng Seng, known widely as OBS, was born in 1946 in Sabah, Malaysia.
He was born into a wealthy family and they moved to Singapore in 1950 when he was four years old, according to the New Straits Times.
In the early 1970s, he earned his first fortune selling shipping insurance. In 1975, Ong joined Kuo International, an oil trading firm started by his father-in-law, Peter Fu Yun Siak.
He formed HPL in 1981 to lead Kuo International’s acquisition of hotels and other properties. The year after, the company was listed in Singapore.
HPL owns and operates hotels under the brands of Four Seasons, COMO Hotels & Resorts, InterContinental Hotels Group, Six Senses, Marriott International, Hard Rock Hotels and Concorde, as well as malls that include Forum shopping mall.
The businesses span the globe, with operations in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Maldives, Indonesia, Seychelles, the United Kingdom, the United States, Vanuatu, Bhutan, Tanzania, South Africa, Italy and Sri Lanka.
His wife Christina Ong, who is Singaporean, runs Como Hotels & Resorts, retail empire Club 21 and London-listed handbag maker Mulberry.
The couple was ranked 24th richest in Singapore last year and estimated by Forbes to have a net worth of US$1.75 billion (S$2.3 billion).
RECENT BUSINESS DEALINGS
Ong is the man behind Singapore GP, which brought the Formula 1 Grand Prix to Singapore in 2008 – the very first night race in F1 history.
The race has been held annually in Singapore except for a two-year hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It returned in October 2022 with a new deal signed for Singapore to host the night race for another seven years through 2028.
