Goh Cheng Liang died on 12 Aug 2025 at age 98. His family announced he “passed away this morning with family members by his side.”
The billionaire founded Wuthelam Group and held a majority stake in Japan’s Nippon Paint Holdings. Forbes ranked him as the 182nd richest person globally in 2025. His net worth reached US$13.1 billion as of 11 Aug 2025.
Goh drew most of his wealth from Nippon Paint, the world’s fourth-largest paint manufacturer by revenue. He topped Forbes’ list of Singapore’s richest for many years.
From Rented Room to Paint Empire
Goh spent his first 12 years in a shophouse on River Valley Road. He shared a SGD$3-a-month rented room with his parents, three sisters and one brother.
World War II forced his parents to send him to Muar in Johor. He helped his brother-in-law sell fishing nets. He returned to Singapore in 1943.
Goh started selling aerated water after the war. The business failed. He then worked at a hardware store.
The British army auctioned war supplies in 1949. Goh bought paint barrels at low prices. He used a Chinese dictionary on chemicals to mix colours and add solvents. This created his Pigeon Brand paints.
The Korean War began in 1950. Import restrictions limited paint supplies. His paint business boomed.
Goh opened his first paint shop in Singapore in 1955. Nippon Paint approached him to become their main local distributor.
Nippon Paint built its first manufacturing plant in Singapore in 1965. Goh founded Wuthelam Holdings in 1974. He expanded it into a global conglomerate over the following decades.
Wuthelam Group now owns nearly 60 per cent of Tokyo-listed Nippon Paint. The Goh family’s other ventures included the former Liang Court and Mount Elizabeth Hospital. Goh developed both properties before selling them.
Goh explained his business philosophy in a rare 1997 interview with The Business Times. “My personal philosophy is I never want to go public. First, I’m not a professional manager. Second, these professional managers who come and join me, I don’t know how to handle them, I don’t know how to drive them.”
Cancer Survivor Funds Medical Research
Goh established the Goh Foundation in 1995 with help from late Singapore president Wee Kim Wee.
The foundation contributed to establishing Singapore’s National Cancer Centre. It funded the centre’s expansion, which includes the Goh Cheng Liang Proton Therapy Centre.
The foundation awarded grants supporting children’s cancer research at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital. It also funded research at the VIVA Foundation and National University Hospital.
Goh survived cancer. He championed research into treatments for rheumatological and immunological conditions through the ARiSE programme at Singapore General Hospital.
He backed supportive and palliative care initiatives with the National Cancer Centre. This collaboration involved the SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre.
Goh funded infrastructure in Dawu Village, his ancestral home in Chaozhou, China. He paid for roads, clean water supplies, sanitation systems and several schools.
He donated to various welfare agencies throughout his life. He provided bursaries and scholarships for underprivileged students.
Family Man Behind the Fortune
Goh is survived by three children: Goh Hup Jin, Goh Chuen Jin and Goh Chiat Jin. He leaves behind eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
He loved spending time with his grandchildren. His favourite activities included boating, fishing, enjoying good food and travelling.
Family and friends knew him as a humble and private man with a great sense of humour. His eldest son Goh Hup Jin called him “a beacon of kindness and strength.”
“We are very fortunate to have had him show us how to be a good person – he taught us to live life with compassion and humility,” Goh Hup Jin said.
