It seems like the pandemic did not stop the rich from making more money.

In fact, four Malaysians made their debut in this year’s Forbes' 35th annual list of the world's billionaires.

New faces

According to a report by The Star Online, the four Malaysians include:

The Tan Brothers (MR DIY Group (M) Bhd)

According to Forbes, Tan Yu Yeh and Tan Yu Wei’s estimated net worth are US$1.8bil (RM7.44bil) and US$1.1bil (RM4.55bil) respectively, thanks to their initial public offering of MR DIY on Bursa Malaysia last year with a market capitalisation of RM10bil upon listing.

Tan Sri G Gnanalingam (Westports Holdings Bhd)

Tan Sri G Gnanalingam is the chairman of Westports Holdings Bhd, a multi-cargo port operator. The 76-year-old made it to the list with an estimated net worth of US$1.7bil (RM7.03 billion).

Tan Eng Kee (Greatech Technology Bhd)

Tan Eng Kee is the co-founder and CEO of Greatech Technology Bhd, a Penang-based company that makes factory automation equipment. Forbes estimated that Tan has a net worth of US$1.1bil (RM4.55bil).

Apart from these four, the usual wealthy Malaysians who were mainstays in the Forbes list continued to be on it.

Hong Leong Group's Quek Leng Chan leads the pack with an estimated net worth of US$9.7bil (RM40.1bil), Maxis' Ananda Krishnan with a net worth of US$5.8bil (RM24bil), Public Bank's Teh Hong Piow with US$5.7bil (RM23.6bil), Top Glove's Lim Wee Chai with US$3.5bil (RM14.5bil) and Genting's Lim Kok Thay with a net worth of US$2.7bil (RM11.2bil).

Big names still top the list

On the global front, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has been listed as the richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of US$177bil (RM731bil), followed by Tesla's Elon Musk at US$151bil (RM624bil), and luxury retailer LVMH's Bernard Arnault and family with US$150bil (RM620bil).

Microsoft's Bill Gates made it to number four on the list with a net worth of US$124bil (RM512bil) and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg round up the top five with his US$97bil (RM401bil) net worth.

Overall, the report said the billionaires have a combined net worth of US$13.1 trillion (RM54 trillion), compared to last year’s US$8 trillion (RM33 trillion), despite the pandemic slowing down the economies worldwide.

Forbes assistant managing editor of Wealth Kerry A Dolan said in a statement that this was the first time that the combined net worth of the world’s billions crossed into double-digit trillions.

So, we guess it's right to say that the rich gets richer.