Inside a crazy rich Asian’s US$50 million Singapore mansion: how billionaire supermarket tycoon Lim Hock Leng splurged to restore a prestigious colonial bungalow

Apr 18 , 2021

Singapore’s billionaire Lim Hock Leng and his US$50 million mansion. Photos: SCMP, Ta.le Architects

Lim brothers Hock Leng, Hock Chee and Hock Eng, who own a majority stake in their company, have a combined net worth of US$1.2 billion

Ta.le Architects transformed a historic bungalow into a ‘minimalistic luxurious’ home complete with 30-metre swimming pool and ‘flats’ for Lim’s extended family

On a secluded, leafy street in Singapore, supermarket billionaire Lim Hock Leng lives in a US$50 million bungalow.

Lim Hock Leng’s US$50 million bungalow on a leafy street in Singapore. Photo: Ta.le Architects

Lim is the co-owner and managing director of Singapore’s third-largest supermarket chain, Sheng Siong, which operates more than 60 stores in the city state.

Lim’s older brother, Hock Chee, is Sheng Siong’s CEO, while his eldest brother, Hock Eng, is executive chairman. Together, the three brothers own a majority stake in the company, putting their combined net worth at US$1.2 billion, according to Forbes.

The exterior of Lim Hock Leng’s home. Photo: Ta.le Architects

Lim’s home is a “good class bungalow”, Singapore’s most rare and coveted type of real estate. The city state has a limited number of good class bungalows, making them a status symbol reserved for the ultra-wealthy.

The design of Lim’s home combines a historic Singapore bungalow with an ultra-modern home.

“From the front, it looks very unassuming,” one local property agent, who has visited the home and wished to remain anonymous, said. “But if you look from the back it’s a monstrous house that towers over the whole neighbourhood.”

Lim Hock Leng’s home features an intriguing design. Photo: Ta.le Architects