$77 million donor to university, 36-year-old philanthropist Elaine Low inherits $6.55 billion from her father Low Tuck Kwong

Elaine Low, daughter of Indonesian tycoon Low Tuck Kwong, in her capacity as Chairperson of her family’s foundation, recently donated $77 million to the National University of Singapore through the Low Tuck Kwong Foundation to establish the ‘Low Tuck Kwong Foundation Advance Asia Leadership Fund’ and the ‘Low Tuck Kwong Foundation Scholarship’.

In a latest development, last week, her father, Jakarta-based Indonesian billionaire Low Tuck Kwong has transferred shares in his company, Bayan Resources ($6.55 billion) to her.

Low Tuck Kwong is the fourth richest person in Indonesia, with assets totaling $24 billion.

Jenny Quantero, Corporate Secretary of Bayan Resources, explained that the transaction was driven by family considerations, with major shareholder Dato Low Tuck Kwong transferring a portion of his shares to Elaine Low as part of a long-term succession plan.

“Dato Low Tuck Kwong transferred 7.33 billion shares, or 22 percent, to his daughter Elaine Low,” Jenny stated in a disclosure on Aug. 29.

Jenny added that following this share transfer, Low Tuck Kwong’s ownership would decrease from 20.71 billion shares to 13.38 billion shares, or from 62.15 percent to 40.15 percent of the total shares.

“Dato Low Tuck Kwong will remain the principal shareholder and controller of the company, as Elaine Low will exercise voting rights over the shares according to Low Tuck Kwong’s wishes,” Jenny clarified.

Elaine Low earned a Master’s in Public Policy from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in 2014.

She joined the board of Manhattan Resources Limited in May 2014 and became a non-executive, non-independent director in April 2017.

Elaine holds multiple directorships across sectors such as medical, education, and coal mining, including Energy Resource Investment Pte. Ltd, Farrer Way Pte. Ltd, One Farrer Pte. Ltd, Farrer Park Company Pte. Ltd, KaiYi Investment Pte. Ltd, Singapore Health Partners Pte. Ltd.

36 year old Elaine Low has expressed the family foundation’s goals, stating: “We believe that students and thought leaders will gain from the bilateral learning and exchanges, share best practices, and build meaningful collaboration between Singapore, Indonesia and the rest of Asia. It is our hope that this will lead to practical solutions to tackle issues and improve the lives of Singaporeans and our neighbors.”