David Yong, a self-confessed member of “Singapore’s Top 1% Super-rich”, recently gained attention for flaunting his lavish lifestyle in the Netflix series “Super Rich in Korea”.
The show follows the lives of multi-millionaires living in South Korea, which includes the 36-year-old Singaporean.
With his flashy outfits, numerous luxury cars, and expensive residences, David Yong has become an unforgettable character.
Dive deeper into David Yong’s background and get to know the Singaporean tycoon beyond the fact that he’s crazy rich.
The Korea Times reported that Mr Yong owns 15 properties across Asia.
Netflix’s “Super Rich in Korea” featured just two of the tycoon’s homes — one in Singapore and the other in Seoul.
Source: Netflix K-Content on YouTube
His four-story “villa house” in Singapore boasts a swimming pool and a lift, for those who find climbing four stories a hassle.
In Seoul, Mr Yong resides in a rental apartment within the luxury hotel Signiel Seoul.
The hotel boasts a prime location, occupying the 76th to 101st floors of the Lotte World Tower, the tallest building in Korea.
For this upscale living arrangement, he paid a deposit of 500 million won (S$500,000) with a monthly rent of 20 million won (S$20,000).
Among the lavish decor and branded goods scattered around his home, there’s a cash-counting machine, typically seen in banks or money-changers.
According to Mr Yong, he keeps the machine because counting cash is one of his “hobbies”, and it’s no surprise as his net worth is an estimated $90 million, according to Belmont Film House.
Mr Yong also owns 11 “nice cars” which he keeps in various countries, as he shared in his introduction video of “Super Rich in Korea”.
However, calling them “nice” might just be an understatement.
In Singapore, his collection includes a Rolls Royce, Porsche, and McLaren, which makes us wonder about the COE costs he’s paying.
Source: @dynimm on Instagram
In South Korea, he has another Rolls Royce, along with a Ferrari and a Carnival.
Mr Yong has two additional cars in Japan and three in Cambodia, where he also conducts business.
On top of all these, he uses a private jet to attend to his business ventures to “save time”.
Source: @dynimm on Instagram
For those curious about how he affords his lavish lifestyle, Mr Yong is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of his family’s multinational enterprise, Evergreen Group Holdings.
Source: @dynimm on Instagram
Founded by Mr Yong’s father, Yong Ing Fatt, the company started in the 1990s as a timber business in Singapore.
According to the company’s website, it has since expanded into real estate, finance, and other ventures across different countries.
Mr Yong joined the family business in 2014 and under his leadership, the business grew significantly from S$20 to S$25 million in sales when he joined to S$58.7 million in 2019.
Now expanding into the K-pop scene, Mr Yong’s company is also the co-organiser of the upcoming music festival Waterbomb Singapore.
Besides being a CEO, Mr Yong is also a registered lawyer in Singapore.
He graduated with second upper-class honors in law from the University of Bristol Law School before returning to Singapore in 2013, reported The Peak.
Source: University of Bristol on Google Maps
Mr Yong was called to the bar in October 2014 and is, at present, the managing partner at a legal firm headquartered in Singapore.
In the firm, he leads the private client services practice, while his personal areas of expertise span civil and criminal litigation, insurance claims, family law, and more.
According to the law firm’s website, Mr Yong also contributes his time as a Criminal Legal Aid Scheme (CLAS) volunteer.
The multi-hyphenate also studied at several prestigious institutions worldwide.
Before becoming a law graduate at the University of Bristol, Mr Yong completed a business management program at Peking University from 2010 to 2011.
He had also participated in an international summer program at Seoul National University.
During his junior college years, he attended Anglo-Chinese Junior College in Singapore.
As if being a CEO and a lawyer isn’t impressive enough, Mr Yong also debuted as a K-pop singer in 2022.
However, prior to his debut, he had already collaborated with the Korean R&B group 4MEN for an OST for the K-drama School 2021.
Just last year, he released his single “Maybe Love” with Mamamoo’s Moonbyul, which ranked in multiple Top 10 music charts in Asia.
For those wondering if the tycoon has the vocal chops for K-pop, he trained under Singaporean veteran singer Pan Xiu Qiong when he was 18.
When asked why he ventured into K-pop, he told Hear65 that he wanted to understand the business from the inside and make his own network of friends in the industry to pave the way for future entertainment businesses and investments.
After releasing his first K-pop song in July 2022, he signed with South Korean recordand entertainment agency Rainbowbridge World (RBW), the same label that handles K-pop acts such as Mamamoo, ONEUS, and Purple Kiss.
However, he didn’t sign as an artist but as an influencer CEO.
While this role might be unfamiliar to many, it has gained popularity in recent years, with CEOs taking a more active role in their company’s social media marketing.
To put it shortly, Mr Yong works as a key opinion leader (KOL).
He also distributes RBW artists’ music in Southeast Asia while RBW provides him with avenues to release his own songs and music videos.
He has over 115,000 followers on Instagram and is often seen at fashion events. Just recently, he was in China for Shanghai Fashion Week.
In 2023, The Straits Times (ST) reported that he had invested S$10.2 million into Attrakt, a K-pop agency.
He is presently involved in recruiting new members for the label’s girl group, Fifty Fifty.
Source: @dynimm on Instagram
Mr Yong has plans to establish his own K-pop label, reported The Korea Herald.
He wants to bring Southeast Asian talents, particularly Singaporeans, to train in South Korea.
This endeavor lines up with the tycoon’s goal to be “the ultimate bridge between South Korea and Southeast Asia”.
Editor’s note: We previously wrote that David Yong was a trainee lawyer at Baker McKenzie. This is incorrect. David Yong has never trained or worked with Baker McKenzie. We are sorry for the error.
Also read: S’porean CEO David Yong shows off 4-storey villa & 11 luxury cars in new Netflix series
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Featured image adapted from @dynimm on Instagram, @rbw_official on Instagram, Netflix K-Content on YouTube
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