Chronology:Robert Kuok

• 1923, October 6: Robert Kuok Hock Nien was born in Johor Bahru, Johor, the youngest of 3 brothers.
• Unknown: Robert Kuok studied at Raffles Institution in Singapore.
• 1942-1945 (age 18-21): Upon graduation, Robert Kuok worked in the grains department of Mitsubishi, a Japanese industrial conglomerate Mitsubishi.
• 1948 (age 24): Robert Kuok's father died.
• 1949 (age 25): Robert Kuok and his 2 brothers founded Kuok Brothers Sdn Bhd, trading in agricultural commodities. Under the new post-colonial government, Kuok started in the sugar business alongside the government.
• 1961 (age 37): Robert Kuok made a coup by buying cheap sugar from India before the prices shot up. He continued to invest heavily in sugar refineries, controlled 80% of the Malaysian sugar market with production of 1.5 million tonnes, equivalent to 10% of world production, and so earned his nickname "Sugar King of Asia".
• 1971 (age 47): Robert Kuok built his first Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore.
• 1977 (age 53): Robert Kuok made his first foray into Hong Kong property, when he acquired a plot of land on the newly reclaimed Tsim Sha Tsui East waterfront. Here, he built his 2nd hotel, the Kowloon Shangri-La.
• 1985, November 22: Robert Kuok won the Golden Pyramid award that made him the Malaysian Entrepreneur for 1985. His son, Khoon Ean, received the award from Acting Prime Minister Datuk Musa Hitam on behalf of his father.^[1]
• 1993 (age 69):
  • Robert Kuok's Kerry Group acquired a 34.9% stake in the South China Morning Post from Murdoch's News Corporation.
  • April 1: Robert Kuok officially retired from the Kerry Group and currently resides in Hong Kong.
• 2009, October 31 (age 86): Robert Kuok's PPB Group issued a statement to Bursa Malaysia that it has decided to dispose of its sugar units, along with land used to cultivate sugarcane, to Felda for RM1.29 billion.
• 2010 (age 87): Robert Kuok delisted Allgreen Properties in Singapore, and Jerneh Asia in Malaysia by buying back all shares.^[2]
• 2011 (age 88): Forbes valued Robert Kuok's personal wealth at US$12.4 billion, ranking him at No. 1 on the Forbes list of Malaysia's Richest.