The Kuok Group feeds cities, builds skylines, and reshapes borders. From sugar to shipping, hotels to high finance, it powers modern Asia in ways few truly understand.

Robert Kuok sits quietly at the heart of this story, a man guided by discipline, driven by vision, and guarded in privacy.

He didn’t chase the spotlight. He chased scale. From the chaos of war-torn Malaya to the boardrooms of Beijing, Kuok built his empire with patience, precision, and a belief in long-term power over short-term profit.

He never raised his voice. But when he moved, industries followed.

This is the story of the Kuok Group — how a young man from Johor Bahru, Malaysia, rose from rice sacks and ration books to build Southeast Asia’s largest sugar empire and, ultimately, to shape the future of China, one power move at a time.

Episode 1: Foundations

Japanese bombs fall over Singapore. Sixteen-year-old Robert Kuok begins a long walk home. He is angry, disillusioned, but determined to change the world.

Episode 2: Sugar Rush

Rice built Kuok Brothers Ltd. But sugar? That’s what will make them legends. When global prices spike and contracts fall apart, Robert learns the true cost of sweet ambition.

Episode 3: Sugar Crash

From the Prai refinery to international futures trading, Kuok becomes the “Sugar King of Asia.” But when prices collapse, survival demands more than just strategy. It demands reinvention.

Episode 4: Shangri-La

Kuok bets on hospitality. The result? A new kind of empire, one made of glass, steel, and silence. But while others chase the West, Robert looks East.

Episode 5: China Inc.

With Deng Xiaoping’s Open Door, Robert Kuok walks straight in. From luxury hotels to Wilmar’s agribusiness boom, he builds a bridge between China and the world — and prepares the Kuok legacy for its next generation.

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