Singapore’s 2nd richest billionaire Kwek Leng Beng receives $5.7M remuneration from CDL for 2025

The package comprised S$1.5 million in fixed salary, S$5.6 million in bonuses, S$133,636 in board or committee fees and S$185,600 in other benefits, the hotel and property group said in its annual report released on Tuesday.

The amount was 24.3% higher than his 2024 pay of around S$5.9 million.

Kwek’s son and CDL’s group CEO, Sherman Kwek, was paid S$5.1 million for 2025, including S$990,644 in salary, S$2.5 million in bonuses, S$121,925 in fees and S$86,364 in other benefits.

His package also included a S$1.4 million long-term incentive, which is to be paid out only if specific performance targets are met over a three-year period, The Business Times reported.

His 2025 compensation was 70.8% higher than the S$2.97 million he received the year before, when he opted not to take up the long-term incentive.

City Development Limited’s executive chairman Kwek Leng Beng (L) and group CEO Sherman Kwek. Photo from CDL’s website

Higher pay for both executives came as CDL posted strong results for 2025, with full-year profit rising by 213% to S$629.7 million.

The group attributed the surge in profit to record residential sales of S$4.4 billion in Singapore, along with robust gains from capital recycling.

It divested around S$2 billion in assets during the year, with one of the largest being the sale of its 50.1% stake in the South Beach mixed-use development for S$1.38 billion, which delivered a gain of S$473.1 million.

The performance helped rebuild market confidence after a boardroom clash between him and his father in 2025, a year Sherman has described as “a year of reflection, resilience and disciplined execution,” according to The Straits Times.

The dispute, which started with a lawsuit filed by the elder Kwek against his son in February 2025, led to a trading halt and sparked concerns over the company’s direction before the case was dropped weeks later.

Kwek and his family ranked second on Forbes‘ annual list of the richest people in Singapore last September with a combined net worth of US$14.3 billion.