Forrest Li

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Forrest Li Xiaodong
李小冬
Born1977 or 1978 (age 45–46)[1]
Tianjin, China[2]
CitizenshipSingaporean
EducationShanghai Jiaotong University (BA)
Stanford University (MBA)
Known forFounder of Sea Limited
Chairman of Lion City Sailors FC

Forrest Li Xiaodong (born 1977 or 1978) is a Chinese Singaporean billionaire businessman. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Sea Limited, a company with subsidiaries including Garena and Shopee.[3] He is also the chairman of Lion City Sailors FC, which is owned by Sea.

Biography[edit]

Forrest Li Xiaodong was born in Tianjin, China. He earned a bachelor's degree in engineering from Shanghai Jiaotong University, and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business.[1]

Li did not come from generational wealth; Li was $100,000 in student loan debt and along with his wife previously lived in a single bedroom within a three-room public housing HDB flat at Braddell. He later decided to settle permanently in Singapore, taking up citizenship.[4]

Li's first company was Garena in 2009. At the time, the company had only operated out of a single shophouse off Maxwell Road at Tanjong Pagar.[5]

In March 2019, after the share price of his consumer internet company Sea Ltd increased by 45%, Li's net worth increased to more than $1 billion.[6]

Li is a football fan.[7] He is the chairman of the Lion City Sailors, a Singapore Premier League football club that was acquired by Sea in 2020.[8][9]

Personal life[edit]

Li is married and lives in Singapore.[1] Li appeared on the August 2020 cover of Forbes Asia, the Asia edition of Forbes magazine.[10] According to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Li's net worth was estimated at US$4.2 billion as of September 2022, making him the 11th richest person in Singapore.[11]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Forbes profile: Forrest Li". Forbes. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  2. ^ "7 Forrest Li Facts To Know Now That He's S'pore's Richest Man". mustsharenews.com. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  3. ^ "Commentary: The incredible rise of Forrest Li, modest founder of Singapore's most valuable listed company". CNA. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  4. ^ Pillai, Sharanya (17 December 2020). "Sea's Forrest Li credits Singapore in Businessman of the Year win". www.businesstimes.com.sg. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  5. ^ Sim, Dewey (20 February 2021). "Why Singapore tech giant Sea is making waves in Southeast Asia". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  6. ^ "Billionaires 2019". Forbes. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  7. ^ Kang, John. "Forrest Li's Sea Ltd Surges As Pandemic Drives Digitalization Across ASEAN". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-06-01.
  8. ^ Mohan, Matthew. "Football: Singapore tech firm Sea takes ownership of Home United; club changes name to Lion City Sailors FC". CNA. Archived from the original on 2021-02-26. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
  9. ^ "Forrest Li : "Singapore's Steve Jobs" shoots for the stars". MoneyWeek. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  10. ^ Kang, John. "Forrest Li's Sea Ltd Surges As Pandemic Drives Digitalization Across ASEAN". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  11. ^ HO", "NAAZNEEN KARMALI"," JANE. "Singapore's Richest 2022". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-01-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)