Peter Lim
| Peter Lim | |
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Photo of Peter Lim
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| Native name | 林榮福 |
| Born | 1953 Singapore |
| Residence | Singapore |
| Citizenship | Singapore |
| Education | University of Western Australia |
| Occupation | Businessman, Investor |
| Net worth | US$2.3 billion (January 2017) |
| Spouse(s) | Cherie Lim (m. 2003) |
| Children | 2 (from ex-wife Venus Teo) |
Peter Lim (born 1953) is a Singaporean business magnate, entrepreneur, philanthropist and investor. Lim, who was one of Singapore's leading stockbrokers is now a private investor. He is an astute and diversified investor and has invested in sectors ranging from palm oil to medicine. In 2016, Forbes ranked Lim as the 11th richest person in Singapore with a net worth of US$2.4 billion.
Lim was born in very modest circumstances. The son of a fishmonger, Lim and his seven siblings grew up in a two-bedroom government flat in one of Singapore’s oldest public housing estates, Bukit Ho Swee. Bukit Ho Swee was a notorious neighbourhood for its lawlessness. The residents were associated with Chinese triad society, attap and wooden huts, poverty, frequent gang clashes and mostly illiterate and uneducated Singaporeans. Lim learnt a lot surviving through Bukit Ho Swee in the early years in Singapore. He never made an excuse to work hard despite his economic conditions although he found it hard to get into a respectable University because of his economic background. He put himself through the University of Western Australia, in Perth, by working as taxi driver, cook and waiter, among other odd jobs and ultimately came home with a degree in finance and accounting.
Lim is known to fight at all cost to protect his credibility given his prominent background and his wealth. Lim will react aggressively to clear false allegations and to stymie frivolous claims. Lim won the biggest libel payout in Singaporean history in the Raffles Town Club saga.
As a philanthropist, Lim focusses on education and sports to help those who are capable and driven but lack the financial resources, reflecting his own experience growing up. To date, the most high profile project is the $10 million scholarship fund under the Singapore Olympic Foundation (SOF) to nurture local sports talents in 2010. His donations to numerous other charities have not been profiled.
Lim married Cherie Lim in 2003 and has 2 children, Kim and Kiat Lim, from ex-wife Venus Teo.
Lim completed his secondary school education in Raffles Institution. While he was not a very good student in school, he was an outstanding artillery officer in National Service (Best trainee – Foxtrot Company Platoon 3 June 1972, Best Cadet – Y battalion. Basic artillery officers’ course June 1973). At the age of 20, he started dabbling in stocks and bought his first lot of shares with his wage of $385 a month. He lost money. After National Service, he went to Perth to further his studies at the University of Western Australia. To fund his university education, Lim worked part-time doing odd jobs as a taxi-driver, cook and waiter. It was one of these jobs - in the Australian fast-food chain Red Rooster - that opened his eyes to how business was done. Lim watched how they started, how they grew, and how they scaled up. It was also in university where he honed his instincts and skills as an investor. He graduated with a degree in accounting and finance and stepped out into the working world. Lim’s first job as an accountant lasted three months. He did some tax consultancy before he went into stocks.
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Wikipedia