Francis Yeoh

Francis Yeoh comes from a successful family. His father, business tycoon, Yeoh Tiong Lay, is the founder on YTL Corporation. The company is now run of Francis, who is the eldest son. The family has an estimated 2.8 billion dollars and ranks as Forbes’ 6th richest in Malaysia.

Francis earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Kingston University, located in the United Kingdom. He earned an Honorary Doctorate in Philosophy from the Universiti Malaysia Sabah, and also holds a Doctor of Engineering from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh.

In 1988, he became YTL Corp.’s Managing Director. Under his leadership, YTL expanded from a single listed entity to one of Malaysia’s largest conglomerates, consisting of five companies.

YTL Corporation owns PowerSeraya, Singapore’s second largest power plant, co-owns the Eastern and Oriental Express, and also owns the Ritz-Carlton in Kuala Lumpur. The company’s success is due to Francis’ dedication, as well as the steadfastness of his siblings, who are directors at YTL Corporation. Furthermore, all of Francis’ children are involved in the business.

On the personal front, Francis married in 1982 and had five children with his wife, Rosaline. Sadly, she passed away in 2006.

In honor of his father, Francis donated 11 million dollars to King’s College London, to develop the center for Politics, Philosophy, and Law. His strong work ethic has caught the attention of the business world. Francis was awarded with the First Malaysian Ernst & Young Master Entrepreneur of the year, was conferred Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE), by Queen Elizabeth II for his humanitarian endeavors, was BusinessWeek’s 25 Stars of Asia, and was ranked as one of Asia’s 25 Most Powerful Business Personalities by Fortune Magazine.