Goh is the chairman of Nippon Paint, the largest paint maker in Asia. The Osaka-based company had revenue of 1.6 trillion yen ($10.8 billion) in 2024. The Singaporean family's Wuthelam Holdings merged with Nippon Paint in 2020. Goh's late father, Cheng Liang, was a main distributor for the Japanese firm in the 1950s.
The majority of the Goh family's fortune is derived from a 58% stake in publicly-traded, Osaka-based Nippon Paint. Nippon Paint is the largest paint maker in Asia and has operations in about 48 countries, according to the company's website.
They own the shares through Nipsea International and Fraser (HK), according to an Aug. 6, 2025 filing. Nipsea International was controlled by the family's Wuthelam Holding until December 2024, when its stake was distributed to seven family members, according to an announcement by Nippon Paint and a September 2025 Bloomberg News report.
Wuthelam acquired a majority stake in the paint maker in a deal that was completed in January 2021. The deal involved buying out their joint ventures in other parts of Asia. Nippon Paint took over Wuthelam's wholly owned Indonesia business.
The value of the family's cash investments is based on an analysis of dividends and stock transactions, as well as taxes and market performance.
A spokesperson for the family declined to comment on the net worth calculation.
Goh Hup Jin was born on April 6, 1953 to father Goh Cheng Liang. The elder Goh bought several barrels and started mixing the paint with colors when the British army auctioned off surplus stocks of rotten paint in 1949. He created his first business under the brand Pigeon Paint. When the Korean War broke out in 1950, the Singaporean government introduced restrictions on imports and Pigeon's domestic sales soared.
Cheng Liang went to Denmark to learn paint manufacturing technology and on his return agreed to partner with Japan's Nippon Paint Holdings. They formed Singapore-based Nipsea Group in 1962, which became one of the region's largest paint makers. He made an unsolicited takeover bid for Nippon Paint in January 2013, withdrew it two months later, and agreed to a strategic alliance with Nippon Paint in February 2014 that saw Wuthelam increase its stake in its Japanese partner to 39% stake.
The Goh family's holding company, Wuthelam, diversified into real estate, property developments and logistics, and financed the construction of Singapore's Liang Court mall and Mount Elizabeth Hospital in the 1970s and 1980s.
Hup Jin became the chairman of Nippon Paint in April 2021. Cheng Liang died in August 2025, survived by three children Hup Jin, Chuen Jin and Chiat Jin.