Who is Jeffrey Cheah, Malaysian billionaire behind the firm acquiring Singapore property developer MCL Land for $578M?

Announced on Thursday, Sunway’s acquisition of the developer, which is part of Hong Kong property giant Hongkong Land, marks a bold expansion in one of Asia’s most competitive real estate markets.

Earlier in the year, the group revealed a RM2.6 billion (US$582 million) joint project with Malaysia’s state-owned commuter rail operator MRT to develop a mixed-use complex close to the Singapore border.

Sunway is one of Malaysia’s biggest conglomerates, spanning construction, education, healthcare, infrastructure and real estate. It is also the foundation of the US$4.3 billion fortune of its executive chairman and founder, Jeffrey Cheah.

Jeffrey Cheah, chairman and founder of Sunway Group. Photo courtesy of the company

Growing up in Pusing, a mining settlement in Malaysia’s Perak state, Cheah left home to earn a business degree at Australia’s Victoria University and then returned to work as an accountant at a motor assembly plant.

He started Sunway as a small tin-mining firm in 1974 with a RM100,000 investment.

"I am an accountant by training. But I realized I have an entrepreneur mindset. So, I quit my job at a motor assembly plant and ventured into my own business," he told The Asean Post in a 2021 interview.

He later purchased a piece of mining land in Selangor to work on but eventually chose instead to restore its desolate terrain, according to the Vulcan Post.

The decision was reportedly rooted in what he had seen in his hometown, where years of mining had left it with barren land, little economic activity and families struggling to survive after the industry pulled out.

The Selangor site eventually turned into Malaysia’s first green and sustainable township—Sunway City Kuala Lumpur. The bustling town marked one of the firm’s most notable ventures.

Cheah would later describe these early years as a period filled with relentless effort, sleepless nights and doubt from critics who questioned his ambition.

From that base, Sunway steadily grew and branched into a wide range of industries. It reported record-high revenues of RM7.88 billion and pre-tax profits of RM1.5 billion last year.

Looking back, Cheah believes he was lucky.

"I was a little-known individual from Pusing, in Perak, a poverty-ridden town where many of my childhood friends could not afford to further their education due to the financial constraints faced by their families," he said, as quoted by the New Straits Times.

"I am deeply grateful to my country for the opportunities it has blessed me with."

The success of his firm gave Cheah the means to realize a lifelong dream of philanthropy.

In 2010, he founded the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation. Dedicated to nation-building, with a focus on education, the foundation has, as of 2024, provided more than RM745 million in scholarships to thousands of Malaysian students.

His philanthropic work has earned him wide recognition; he is the second person to have been named four times on the annual Asia’s Heroes of Philanthropy by Forbes magazine.

Beyond his philanthropic and business achievements, Cheah has also focused on succession planning. He and his wife have three children, all of whom are involved in the family business.

His eldest daughter, Sarena, serves on the board and leads the property development arm. Adrian, the youngest, oversees business development at listed Sunway REIT. The middle son, Evan, serves as group CEO for digital and strategic investments and is set to succeed his father as chairman once he steps down.

Cheah has been preparing them for their roles since they were young. He often brought them along to construction sites to teach them that building ecosystems required leaders to be hands-on and diligent.

"We are very conscious of succession planning," Cheah told Forbes. "It is only right that we leave a good legacy, strong management, strong succession and people in place."

Asked what sort of legacy he wanted to leave behind, Cheah said in a 2019 interview with CNBC: "My motto has always been ‘I aspire to inspire before I expire.’"

He expressed hopes to "do goods for mankind," and emphasized the urgency of addressing climate change.

"To help bring better prospects, better future, better health, better well-being, (eradicate) poverty and all these things. That’s my hope, as my legacy," he added.