SINGAPORE, Sept 4 — Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin has retained his position as Singapore’s richest person for a fourth consecutive year despite losing more than US$10 billion (RM40 billion) from his fortune, while the OCBC-linked Lee family recorded the biggest gain on the country’s latest rich list.

Singapore’s 50 wealthiest people were worth a combined US$239 billion in 2026, unchanged from a year earlier, as gains in banking, retail and property were offset by sharp losses among some of the city-state’s technology billionaires, AsiaOne reported, citing Forbes Asia.

Saverin, a longtime Singapore resident, remained comfortably at No 1 even as his fortune fell by US$10.1 billion to US$32.9 billion.

The decline came as shares in Meta, Facebook’s parent company, fell 25 per cent over the period covered by the ranking. Forbes Asia said the company had reported a 14 per cent fall in second-quarter net profit amid higher spending on artificial intelligence.

Kwek Leng Beng remained in second place, with his family’s fortune rising by US$1.8 billion to US$16.1 billion.

The family controls property group City Developments, which has been selling non-core assets while sharpening its focus on its residential and hospitality businesses.

Brothers Robert and Philip Ng, whose property empire includes Far East Organization and listed developer Far East Orchard, held on to third place with a combined fortune of US$14.3 billion.

But the biggest winner on this year’s list was the Lee family, whose wealth largely comes from its stake in Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation.

The family climbed to fourth place with a combined fortune of US$13.8 billion, up 78 per cent from a year earlier.

OCBC shares nearly doubled over the period, supported by growth in the bank’s wealth management business.

Another notable gainer was Lim Hock Chee, co-founder and chief executive of supermarket chain Sheng Siong Group.

His family’s wealth rose to US$2.7 billion after Sheng Siong shares climbed 54 per cent as the retailer continued expanding its network of stores across Singapore’s heartland estates.

The gains came against a relatively buoyant economic backdrop. Singapore’s economy expanded 6.1 per cent in the first half of 2026, helped by strong growth in electronics and precision engineering manufacturing as demand for AI-related products surged.

Yet the strength of the wider economy did not translate into an increase in the combined wealth of Singapore’s richest people.

Although 35 of the 50 people or families on the list were wealthier than a year earlier, losses among some of the biggest technology fortunes kept the overall total flat. The minimum fortune required to make the ranking remained US$1 billion.

Among those hardest hit were the founders of New York-listed technology group Sea, which owns e-commerce platform Shopee.

Sea shares fell by about a third amid intensifying competition from TikTok Shop and pressure on e-commerce margins.

The slide erased nearly US$5.9 billion from the combined fortunes of co-founders Forrest Li, Gang Ye and David Chen, who ranked seventh, 14th and 44th respectively.