Brother Tan Yu Yeh and Tan Yu Wei are perhaps some of the most surprising billionaires in Malaysia. Unlike the other richest people, they went straight into the top 10 in 2021 after their company MR.DIY was listed in Bursa Malaysia the year before.
Changing the retail industry
Yu Wei and Yu Yeh started MR DIY back in 2005 as a home improvement retail chain. Basically, MR DIY sells all types of daily goods at extremely affordable prices. Then, it was a store based in Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman before expanded into shopping malls and hypermarkets. Today, it is based in Selangor with other brands such as MR. TOY and MR.Dollar, all of which operate within a similar business model. It has also since expanded into the e-commerce platform to serve more customers.
Making to the billionaires’ list
That was the business model that propelled the brothers to their wealth. To date, it has grown to more than 730 stores (including subsidiaries) in Malaysia and 4 in Brunei with no sign of stopping. Throughout the years, MR DIY has persisted to become the ‘go-to’ store among Malaysians for essential items like hardware, stationeries, decorative items and others.
In October 2020, MR DIY Group went public which saw the brothers becoming billionaires. This took place in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. What made MR DIY such a significant brand is that the stores had continued to operate despite the many rounds of MCOs (Movement Control Orders) implemented by the Malaysian government during the pandemic where many other retail stores were not allowed to operate. Since MR DIY sells essential goods, Malaysians were dependent on these stores for their supplies.
Yu Yeh was formerly a remisier with Inter-Pacific Securities and engineer with Komag USA while Yu Wei was involved in the wholesale business of products from China, De Little Chinatown. As a retail brand, it has won the Retailer – Home Improvement category at the World Branding Awards for 3 consecutive years (2018 to 2020) as well as the 2020’s Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Award.
Net Worth
$2.7 billion
Source Of Wealth
The main source of wealth comes from their retail business.
Residence
Malaysia
Malaysia
Marital Status
No information available currently
Family members
No information available currently
Education
No information available currently