This billionaire with polio started a roadside snack stall with only 6 years of schooling. His net worth is...

Lee Thiam Wah once sold snacks from a roadside stall in Malaysia. (Image: @BluePhoenixFin/X)

Lee Thiam Wah’s journey from selling snacks at a roadside stall while battling polio to becoming Malaysia’s latest billionaire is nothing short of extraordinary. On Monday, the 60-year-old entrepreneur and owner of 99 Speed Mart, Malaysia’s largest mini-market chain, watched as investors eagerly snapped up shares in his company during its highly anticipated initial public offering (IPO).

The event marked Malaysia’s biggest IPO in seven years and positioned Lee as a pivotal figure in the country’s stock market resurgence.

The IPO raised a staggering US$531 million, catapulting Lee’s net worth to an estimated US$3.3 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Shares of 99 Speed Mart Retail opened 12.1% higher at 1.85 ringgit (US$0.39) per share and saw a peak of 1.91 ringgit, a substantial increase from the IPO price of 1.65 ringgit, Bloomberg reported. By mid-morning, over 3 million shares had traded hands, signalling robust interest from both local and foreign investors.

About Lee Thiam Wah

Born to a construction worker father and a hawker mother, Lee was one of 11 children in a modest household in Klang, Malaysia’s largest port city. A bout of polio left him disabled at a young age, and his parents could only afford to send him to school for six years.

Despite these challenges, Lee ventured into business by selling snacks at a roadside stall. He opened his first grocery store in 1987, eventually expanding 99 Speed Mart into a retail giant with nearly 2,700 stores across Malaysia.

In addition to 99 Speed Mart, Lee is a significant shareholder in Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd. and holds a stake in the company that franchises Burger King in Malaysia. With the IPO’s proceeds, Lee plans to further expand his mini-market empire, aiming to increase the store count to around 3,000 in the next three years, according to the company’s prospectus.