Kwek Leng Beng: CDL Net Worth, Family & 2025 Feud

When a father sues his own son, it’s usually a private drama — but when that father is one of Singapore’s wealthiest men and the son runs the country’s biggest property developer, the world watches. Kwek Leng Beng, executive chairman of City Developments Limited (CDL), made headlines in February 2025 when he sued his son and CDL CEO Sherman Kwek over an alleged boardroom coup, and by September the two had called a truce, raising fundamental questions about succession and investor trust.

Net worth: USD 8.5 billion (Forbes, 2025) ·
Age: 84 (born 27 January 1941) ·
Role: Executive Chairman, City Developments Limited (CDL) ·
Family rank: Sixth-richest family in Asia (Kwek/Quek family) ·
CDL debt: SGD 13 billion (USD 10 billion) as of September 2025

The numbers behind the billionaire and his business empire tell a clear story.

Is Sherman Kwek Leng Beng’s son?

Yes, Sherman Kwek is the son of Kwek Leng Beng. According to Wikipedia, Sherman was born around 1976 and joined CDL in 2007. He was appointed CEO of CDL in January 2018, succeeding Grant Kelley.

Sherman Kwek’s role at CDL

• Deputy CEO and Executive Director of CDL (Bloomberg)
• Previously led CDL’s UK and international operations
• Central figure in the February 2025 boardroom dispute

The feud became public in late February 2025 when Kwek Leng Beng filed a lawsuit alleging his son and a group of directors tried to consolidate control of the board (Bloomberg on YouTube). The lawsuit was later withdrawn, and in August 2025 Kwek said past issues had been put behind them (Wikipedia).

Family relationship confirmed by public records

• Kwek Leng Beng married Cecilia Kok Phooi Lin in 1970 (Wikipedia)
• Their eldest son is Sherman Kwek
• Kwek also has a daughter whose name is not publicly disclosed

Why this matters: The family link is legally unambiguous, but the public feud has put the entire succession plan under a microscope. The truce may have patched relations, but the question of who will eventually lead CDL remains open.

Who is CDL owned by?

City Developments Limited is majority-owned by Hong Leong Group, the diversified conglomerate founded by Kwek Hong Png. According to Bloomberg, CDL is Singapore’s largest listed property developer and publicly traded on the Singapore Exchange.

Major shareholders of City Developments Limited

• Hong Leong Group (controlling stake, estimated 50–60%)
• Kwek Leng Beng and family (significant direct and indirect holdings)
• Institutional investors and public float on SGX

The Kwek family’s control through Hong Leong Group gives them decisive influence over board appointments. The February 2025 lawsuit centered on allegations that Sherman Kwek and allied directors attempted to bypass the family patriarch’s authority (Bloomberg on YouTube).

Hong Leong Group’s controlling stake

Hong Leong Group Singapore was founded by Kwek Hong Png in 1941 and is now led by Kwek Leng Beng. The group controls assets across property, finance, and hospitality (Wikipedia). CDL is its flagship listed entity, and the family’s majority stake means leadership changes have outsized market impact.

The catch: While Hong Leong Group provides stability, the family feud showed that concentrated ownership can create vulnerability when internal disagreements go public.

Who is Kwek Leng Beng?

Kwek Leng Beng is a Singaporean billionaire businessman born on 27 January 1941. He is the executive chairman of City Developments Limited and a key figure in Hong Leong Group Singapore (Wikipedia).

Biography and early career

• Born 27 January 1941 in Singapore
• Son of Kwek Hong Png, founder of Hong Leong Group
• In 1971, together with his father and brother Kwek Leng Joo, bought control of a loss-making CDL and turned it around (Wikipedia)

Leadership at CDL and Hong Leong Group

• Became executive chairman of CDL in 1995
• Also chairs Hong Leong Group Singapore
• Oversees a property portfolio spanning Singapore, UK, China, and Australia

Kwek’s reputation as a shrewd dealmaker was built during CDL’s turnaround in the 1970s. Today, the company faces a different challenge: managing succession while maintaining investor confidence after a very public family rift.

How rich is the Kwek family?

The Kwek / Quek family is ranked the sixth-richest family in Asia, with a combined net worth estimated at USD 8.5 billion as of 2025 (Forbes via Wikipedia). The wealth spans property, finance, and hospitality.

Kwek/Quek family net worth ranking

• Sixth-richest family in Asia (Forbes 2025)
• Net worth: USD 8.5 billion
• Sources: City Developments (property), Hong Leong Finance, and Millennium & Copthorne Hotels

For context, the family’s wealth is on par with other Asian dynasties like the Kwoks of Hong Kong, though the Kwek clan’s fortune is more concentrated in Singapore and the UK.

Sources of wealth

• City Developments Limited (property development and investment)
• Hong Leong Finance (financial services)
• Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (hospitality, with properties in London, New York, and Singapore)

The diversification provides a buffer against sector-specific downturns, but the family’s reputation as a cohesive unit has been dented by the public squabble.

Who are the major shareholders of CDL?

As outlined above, the major shareholder is Hong Leong Group, which holds a controlling stake. The Kwek family also owns shares directly and through holding companies. The remaining shares are publicly traded on the Singapore Exchange (Bloomberg).

Ownership breakdown

• Hong Leong Group: controlling stake (estimated >50%)
• Kwek Leng Beng direct holdings: significant but undisclosed exact percentage
• Public float: approximately 40%

The concentrated ownership structure means that any shift in family alignment — such as a power transfer from father to son — can profoundly affect the stock. When the feud erupted, CDL shares fell; after the truce, they recovered partially (Bloomberg on YouTube).

The trade-off: Family control allows quick decision-making, but it also introduces personal risk that public shareholders have to accept.

Institutional and family stakes

Institutional investors include major asset managers based in Singapore and globally. However, no single institution holds a block large enough to counter family decisions. The Kwek family’s voting power effectively gives them control over board composition (Wikipedia).

Timeline of key events

A chronological look at the most important moments in Kwek Leng Beng’s career and the CDL family drama.

• 1941: Kwek Leng Beng born in Singapore (Wikipedia)
• 1971: Kwek Leng Beng, his brother Kwek Leng Joo, and father Kwek Hong Png buy control of loss-making CDL (Wikipedia)
• 1995: Kwek Leng Beng becomes executive chairman of CDL (Wikipedia)
• 2018: Sherman Kwek appointed CEO of CDL (Wikipedia)
• February 2025: Kwek Leng Beng sues his son and other directors over alleged boardroom coup (Bloomberg on YouTube)
• August 2025: CDL reports first-half net income rose 3.9% to S$91.2 million; revenue up 8% to S$1.69 billion (Bloomberg)
• September 2025: Father and son call a truce; CDL shares climb (Forbes Asia on Instagram)

The pattern: Each escalation in the feud hurt CDL’s market valuation; each de-escalation boosted it. The timeline shows that investor trust is tied directly to family unity, not just financial performance.

Clarity from uncertainty: what we know and what remains murky

The imbalance: We have solid facts on who owns what and the timeline, but the most critical question — who will lead CDL in 2030 — remains unanswered.

“As a father, firing my son was certainly not an easy decision.”

— Kwek Leng Beng, quoted in Wikipedia

The feud affected one of Asia’s richest families and threatened the stability of Singapore’s biggest listed developer.

— Bloomberg on YouTube (source)

CDL’s first-half results showed muted profit rise after the family feud, as the company sought to demonstrate stability.

— Bloomberg (source)

The Kwek family’s public feud has been a stark reminder that even the most successful dynasties can crack under the weight of succession pressure. The truce of September 2025 has bought time, but it has not resolved the underlying governance question. For CDL’s minority shareholders and the broader Singapore property market, the implication is clear: demand a transparent succession framework, or accept that personal drama will intermittently dictate stock performance.