Saverin remained Singapore’s richest person for a fourth consecutive year, but his fortune fell $10.1 billion to $32.9 billion, according to Forbes’ 2026 list of the city-state’s 50 richest people, released last week.
The three Sea co-founders Forrest Li, Gang Ye and David Chen lost another $5.85 billion combined, bringing the decline across the four tech billionaires to $15.95 billion.
Sea chairman and CEO Li’s fortune fell to $7.7 billion from $11.2 billion, sending him from sixth to 10th place on the Singapore rich list.
Chief operating officer Ye dropped one spot to 14th as his wealth declined to $4.3 billion from $6 billion. Chen, chief product officer of Sea’s e-commerce arm Shopee, slid from 28th to 44th as his fortune fell to $1.35 billion from $2 billion.
The losses mark a sharp reversal from a year earlier, when Singapore’s tech tycoons recorded major gains.
Saverin was the biggest dollar gainer on Forbes’ 2025 Singapore rich list, adding $14 billion to bring his fortune to $43 billion as shares of Facebook parent Meta Platforms rallied.
Sea’s three co-founders also saw their fortunes rise that year, with Li reaching $11.2 billion, Ye $6 billion and Chen $2 billion.
Eduardo Saverin, co-founder of Facebook and venture capital firm B Capital. Photo from B Capital’s website
Their fortunes took a hit this year as shares of their respective companies fell.
Meta shares dropped 25% over the year as second-quarter net profit fell 14% despite a 28% increase in revenue, partly due to surging spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure, Forbes reported.
Most of Saverin’s fortune comes from his stake in Meta, Facebook’s parent company. He co-founded Facebook with Mark Zuckerberg at Harvard University in 2004. The 44-year-old Brazilian-born billionaire has lived in Singapore since 2009 and renounced his U.S. citizenship in 2011 ahead of Facebook’s initial public offering, according to The Straits Times.
He has since become a major technology investor. Saverin co-founded venture capital firm B Capital, which manages more than $12 billion across its funds and invests in companies from early to late stages. In July, the firm raised $500 million for a new fund focused on early-stage startups, particularly those using AI in industries such as healthcare, energy and enterprise technology.
Saverin and his wife, Elaine, have also become major philanthropists in Singapore. Their foundation, registered as a charity in the city-state in 2023, ranks among Singapore’s 10 largest private donors.
Sea’s New York-listed shares, meanwhile, fell nearly one-third over the year as its Shopee e-commerce business faced growing competition from rivals including TikTok Shop, squeezing margins.
Founded in 2009 by Li, Ye and Chen, Sea operates Shopee, gaming platform Garena and digital financial services business Monee. The company listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2017 and has grown into one of Southeast Asia’s largest technology companies.
It is now stepping up its push into AI as it searches for growth beyond e-commerce. It established a dedicated team this year to scout for AI investments globally and has been incorporating the technology into product recommendations and tools for sellers. It has also partnered with Google to develop AI-powered services, including shopping agents, The Business Times reported.
Li has previously said the company could eventually reach a $1 trillion market capitalization if it capitalizes on AI and “makes the right calls”.
Forrest Li, founder and chairman of Sea Limited. Photo courtesy of the Singapore National Olympic Council
Despite the losses among the tech billionaires, the combined wealth of Singapore’s 50 richest people remained unchanged at $239 billion, as gains elsewhere offset the decline. Thirty-five of the 50 listees became wealthier over the past year.
Real estate tycoon Kwek Leng Beng and his family remained second with $16.1 billion after gaining $1.8 billion, while property brothers Robert and Philip Ng ranked third with $14.3 billion.
The Lee family ranked fourth after its wealth surged 78% to $13.8 billion, with most of its fortune coming from a stake in Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. The Goh family of Nippon Paint Holdings rounded out the top five with $13.5 billion, up from $13.1 billion a year earlier.
