I’m sure you’ve read or heard about this.
Malaysian Jho Low, has made a name for himself
in a grand, vivacious, wonderful city that will never
be quiet. Yes, it will shout out your name should
you deserve it.
It’s New York after all, and the name Jho Low has made
there isn’t at all referred to in flattering terms.
First the New York Post, no less, writes about him.
And then New York Mag picks it up.
In both, you can almost smell the disgust dripping from
the pieces.
As the New York Post writes:
Strangely, for a man attracting so much attention, very little is known about Low.
According to his official biography, he currently serves as a group adviser of several international corporations and was appointed to the board of UBG Berhad, a financial-services group in Kuala Lumpur, last year.
But when The Post interviewed Malaysian experts at such think tank as the Council on Foreign Relations, no one had ever heard of Low.
According to inside sources, Low lives at a $100,000-a-month apartment in the Park Imperial, on West 56th Street, home to James Bond actor Daniel Craig and Sean “P. Diddy” Combs — and he won’t go anywhere, not even on the elevator, without at least one bodyguard.
Some of Low’s entourage of eight to 12 people also reside in two other apartments at the Park Imperial — a $30,000-a-month pad and a 2,200-square-foot loft with Central Park views that costs $20,000 a month, according to real-estate investor Michael Hirtenstein, who used to live in the latter.
(the rest of the article here …)
And then, as is with the Internet’s breakneck speed,
it comes out in Twitter and our own Malay Mail.
The latter somehow flashes and then removes and then
flashes the story again, effectively rewriting it as its own (with
NY dateline and all, hmm)
People are wondering where he gets all that money.
Now, there are a few comments on the relevant sites
that say people are just envious of his good fortune,
and are throwing in jokes with regard to his Cristal
obession, Lohan connection and so on … but, perhaps,
is this more than a joke?
The Post’s ‘expose’ was actually old news for New Yorkers
apparently, judging by these blog posts from the Big Apple below.
They’ve been trying to figure out WHO this guy was, apparently.
So:
1. If this is all true, this guy is kind of embarrassing us.
Burned through thousands of US dollars. Over Champagne?
In our current economic downturn, and time of bail outs & stimulus
packages?
Far be it for me to deny anyone some partying, but when New Yorkers
are scratching their heads over how you party and drink, oh lord,
you must really be dishing it out. It takes some balls to be flashier than
Donald Trump in his city.
2. In the articles (and in other sites) he is a representative
of Majestic Masterpiece Sdn Bhd and
the Abu Dhabi-Kuwait-Malaysia Investment Corporation.
Woah, if he was bankrolled, what a way to be bankrolled.
As for why, your guesses are as good as mine.
But hey, look here, I found some interesting links.
[Yes I'm a nerd and read and scour a lot]
We know, from the article, and from many google searches that Low
is in strategic investment house UBG Berhad. Details easily found here .
And that UBG is connected to Loh & Loh, Majestic Masterpiece (MMSB)
and …..
how Majestic Masterpiece and the Abu Dhabi-Kuwait-Malaysia
Investment Corporation became substantial shareholders of UBG ….
Or how there is the Sarawak connection there …
Or how they took over Putrajaya Perdana among others ..
And that (once again), Low seems to be very well connected
to the Kuwaitis and Abu Dhabi big boys …
Like UBG directors Yousef Al Otaiba and
Sheikh Sabah Mohd S. Al-Sabah. (They are all in
MMSB, along with Low, as you can see here)
Both men are partners in Abu Dhabi-Kuwait-Malaysia
Investment Corporation, of which Jho Low is a rep for,
as we’ve established already.
Otaiba is a prominent member of the United Arab Emirates inner
circle, while Sheikh Sabah is also a member of the ruling family of Kuwait.
Our King, and Terengganu Sultan, with the noble intentions
of increasing investments and opportunities within his state
and country, visited Kuwait and the Al Sabah family in December
2008, according to these Bernama pictures of the official visit.
What’s interesting is that Terengganu, as business circles know, has
formed its own Sovereign Wealth Fund.
This fund was reported late 2008 and early 2009 as
the Terengganu Investment Authority.
Its own CEO was sceptical at first too when he was asked to helm
TIA, as he had admitted here.
Many in the business scene also had doubts, as The Edge writes here.
Since then, TIA has transformed into the
1Malaysia Development Berhad, (whoah)
which has this written on this website,
1MDB forms equal-capital joint ventures in investments with high multipliers, especially energy, real estate, tourism and agribusiness. This business model is proven successful with an early indication of USD3 billion investments from the Middle East.
1MDB will continue to be swift in responding to rapid-changing global market, seizing opportunities before others do.
1MDB will have an initial funding of RM11 billion (USD3.13 billion). The first tranche of RM5 billion (USD1.7 billion) was raised in the capital market with the issuance of Islamic Medium Term Notes guaranteed by the Federal Government. 1MDB’s shareholders will determine the future funding for the balance.
That’s some big money.
Now. Here’s the thing. Wait a minute …
Is the last guy below in this Straits Times article, a Mr Joe Low,
the Jho Low merrymaking away in New York?
Joe Low
Another low-profile businessman, he was a key architect of a multibillion-ringgit sovereign wealth fund established by the state of Terengganu.
The fund, called the Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA), has sparked controversy because it will be created using borrowed money and not existing capital held by the state. It will raise capital from a RM5 billion (S$2 billion) bond issue, which will be guaranteed by the Malaysian government.
Little is known of Penang-born Mr Low, who a TIA official said is an adviser to Malaysia’s King, Sultan Mizan, and has close ties with several Middle East investment funds.
Is this the same guy, or is this some typo and mega huge coincidence?
If so, are our leaders seriously backing this young man? (Well he is apparently
just 28 years old)
[By the way, these companies mentioned are also involved,
along with bigtimers Mubdala Group, in the
Iskandar Development Region too]
I had flashes of two Hollywood stories I’ve read before,
but I won’t put there here, interested parties can
e-mail me.
The bottom line is …
Mr Jho Low is involved in some very serious Malaysia-Abu Dhabi-Kuwaiti
business co-operation.
Big business, big deals.
I guess perhaps I should be envious that he is using his
millions anyway he wants, including flushing
it down his (as well as) Usher’s, Lindsay Lohan’s digestive
systems, or shopping and buying expensive homes in NY
if he so chooses.
Isn’t someone who goes all
out to impress extremely well-known, international super stars in
very popular hot spots in one of the flashiest, grandest cities in the
world with such aplomb, overkill and excess fair game for these
questions?
Or perhaps we are being too paranoid, when we
should just accept (albeit with some serious envy) that Low
is having some holiday fun, with some wealthy friends in
New York, a city that we would all love to go buckwild in.
In the Post article it did say after all, that it’s his Kuwaiti
friend Hamad Alwazzan who is belanja-ing him.
Is he a genuine financial genius at 28-years-old who we should
take lessons from, or not?
Am I just very good at finding links but have got it all
wrong and am just super jealous that someone is living it up
in the great New York City?
All I know is I am awake at 7am, having not slept because of
this post.
Great.
All I know is that I love links.
It’s all there.
Now for the serious stuff:
Disclaimer:
[If you're going to comment on this post, jangan mencaci, mencarut or
give me nonsense. After all my research & linking above,
don't give me excrement or I will delete your entry. I reserve the right to
delete any comment for any reason whatsoever (abusive, profane, rude,
or anonymous comments) – so keep it polite, please.]
[Also, all the above are merely my opinions, & I am not responsible for the comments below. Yes.]
23 Comments
Whoever this guy is there is some part of me that is envious
and another that is super wtf with the reckless money throwing
Yeah, I just wonder if ‘living the dream’ includes this amount of partying. Even if I had the money, I’d be spending it on travel and things like that rather than champagne, I guess :)
Thought it started out like a rant, then it got a bit more serious and interesting….and I thought it was nice that you kind of left it open ended at the end, posing questions, instead of making statements.
Aiyah…if he’s splashing that much cash around in some a lavish manner, he better be expecting some kind of attention – wanted or unwanted.
He’s getting attention alright.
well to be honest, if you had that kind of money you can do what ever you want.
big it up to a m’sian that is willing to splurge!
True, think we established that. Certainly wouldn’t want anyone judging us by how we use our hard earned cash. Think the contention and question marks here are based on how he got the money, considering the links to our national funds and all.
something smells mighty fish-ay if u ask me :)
this all sounds so grand,it could be made into a movie. But then again, most movies have more truth to them than ud care to realise
i personally loved the post.woohoo for links!
A movie sounds about right actually haha. Who knows, its the mighty NYC … somebody’s bound to think of it ;)
Well, to be honest there’s usually a load of negativity/scepticism coming from the western medias when they’re writing on anything to do with Asians/Asia in general. Take the recent japan’s new healthcare law on maximum waistline, the western media make it sound so wrong and controlled in order to make the new Obama healthcare plan sounds better! The usual USA! USA!
Anyway, on Jho Low, well if he has the money why not? Besides, he is not the first person to splash that much money on a nite out, pretty common at some clubs like Pink Elephant in NYC and clubs in West End London. 5digits or 6digits tabs. Also, alot of the Asian businessmen like to keep a low profile, away from the limelight. Take Ananda Krishnan, Quek Leng Chan etc for eg. Even for Mr Quek who resides in London, he tends to keep out of any media/public attn. not only do we not see him in london, we too do not see him in Asia-Intl Man of Mystery ;)
I certainly agree with you on the condescending Asian bias they sometimes have, that’s for sure. And yes we have tycoons who probably spend a waaaaay lot more than that. But I think if you read the way he’s been living it up in New York, and trying to schmooze with the big stars, I think this Jho Low is definitely way more ‘out there’ than AK and QLC, for sure!
Should’ve been more mysterious, perhaps? ;)
wow! this is seriously a dem good read. you’re a dem good journalist lah. got me interested.. clicking ALL the links. LOL. yay @links.
m just gonna be “superficial” and say.. u reckon if he was a tall, dark and handsome disgustingly rich msian man, would these articles be written a little differently?
m also gonna be a pessimist and say.. maybe he’s got some terminal illness and just living it up? hah.
all in all… i totally disagree w splashing money like that.
Thank you!
Yes I’ll agree with you, because frankly,
a lot of the stuff going around have also used unflattering words like ‘chubby’ etc to describe him – it’s as if a person who is NOT tall, dark and handsome can’t possibly roll in that world unless he has $$, I guess. You’re right, if he looked like Takeshi Kaneshiro, perhaps the angle may have been quite different.
As for the possibility of illness and living it up…hmm, interesting. I’ll take that into consideration, despite all my skepticism! :)
Cheers!
No matter how much you make, this is no way to splash money especially at a tender age of 28 years old??
Besides, you would never have made this kind of money at 28..unless you’re in the internet business.
Private Equity in Asia never did well last few years. He could never have made that much money in any firm.
Yes, thank you. Was hoping for more input from the business perspective. Question marks question marks indeed.
well, there are some extraordinaires who has made it to the very top in the world of high finance at age of late 20s.
Yes it is rare, but certainly not unheard of.. http://www.financeasia.com/print.aspx?CIID=29177
G was only 26 yrs old when he was made the Director at UBS..
JLo certainly seems to have the credentials (Wharton) and he doesnt seem to be attached to any of the foreign investment bank, which made all this even possible.. An IB typically charges fees based on the transaction size (mostly success fees basis), so a fees of 50 – 100m for a few billions deal is very normal.
If he is working out of his own boutique, he effectively can provide the service (deal broking) at a very competitive rate.. he can rake in these amount of money just by completing a few deals which is mentioned in your blog..
he seems to be a very proliferate deal-makers with the ability to originate, execute and close deals..
just my 2 cents worth
I totally agree with Jeff that you can be very successful after 5 years working experience but let’s put the numbers in perspective.
At 27, he rents a place for 100k+ a month(is that USD??)
He graduated from Wharton at age 22-23 and his previous working experience was in Penang(which means he didn’t take the US investment banking route). And I know how US investment banks work..you can get paid 500k-1M USD per year after 5 years IF you are very successful and are made a director. Before that, you usually paid less than 500k USD.
That kind of salary does not justify a 100k/month apartment.
10k+ USD per month on rent is quite enough in NYC(bearing in mind you get cut as fast as you get paid your bonus in IBs).
No matter how succesful he is, he couldn’t have made money without connections of some sort. 1B dollar deals(not even 100M) don’t fly by your way especially if you DON’T have any track record…which he didn’t before.
I am not even sure whether he is actually successful in any deals so far. The TIA structure is more than dubious but Malaysian Fixed Income managers are suckers for Malaysian bonds despite Malaysia having one of the worst public debt to GDP ratios in Asia.
I know a friend who almost single handedly structured a hedge fund takeover of an Asian bank..his rent is less than 20k ringgit a month…and yes, he was a director before 30 but now doing his own thing.
Interesting read! To jeff and max… one possibility is JL being at right time at right place. He may be close to key figures in the big deals he has orignated, executed and closed. Possibly via Wharton classmates? It sure would be fun to party that intensely although I’d be very interested to see what the “groupie chicks” look like! Another reservation I would have is partying amongst armed bodyguards. Good for him if all is legit!
no matter how rich, powerful, handsome, sexy, brilliant, famous a man is during his lifetime – it is but a flicker in eternity
he has to get sick, get old and die – not necessarily in that order – then be converted to ashes, worm fodder and stool
use your time in this lifetime wisely
Dear Est modus in rebus,
Congratulations on your magnificient Investigative Journalistic effort on Jho Low
First, we have many, many, many senior Malaysians even from before our Independence, across the spectrum of soceity, who got enticed into the world of “Connections, Glamour, $$$, Power, etc straight into the “Group’s Network Tentacles” to be recruited into the “Brotherhood Cult”….
Then our ISIS heads incl our “Fort Knox” Bosses, etc also got roped into the G8, G20, Carlyle, CFR, Bilderberg, Illuminati etc Group Network…
There are also many, many more “Younger Recruits” from the Tavistock Institute network.
All of them are given secret assignments to penetrate their nation’s database & Powers that be, etc…just like our MLM strategy…
Just to share this with you on the Holistic picture….
Tavistock Institute… http://hardtruth.navhost.com/tavistock.html
University of Pennsylvania
Wharton School of Finance & Commerce
One of the prominent “brain trusts” of Tavistock, the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Finance and Commerce (founded by Eric Trist) has become one of the most important Tavistock brainwashing institutions, insofar as “Behavioral Research” is concerned. Wharton attracts clients such as the U.S. Department of Labor, which teaches how to produce *cooked* statistics at the “Wharton Econometric Forecasting Associates Incorporated”. This method was very much in demand as we came to the close of 1991, with millions more people out of work than was reflected in the USDL statistics.
This “institution” has graduated such *prominent* alums as Donald Trump, a shining testament to the callous and glibly egotistical mercenaries it churns out to do its bidding. Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, also “graduated” (one can only wonder how many favors Donald had to agree to do in order for that feat to be accomplished!) from this pretentious brainwashing center.
Would look forward to discuss & compare notes with you some day.
Cheers.
at age 19, his dad sent him to US for further studies. After 1 year he returned to Penang, and so often he does that, his dad was wondering where he got the $ for airfares.In US, his, his circle of friends include Brunei’s sultan son, Saudi prince and other rich mans’ sons. His ingenuity in getting funding from friends for his international business earned him that kinda $. Always with his shorts when he spent time in Penang from US.
Started the wyntongroup.com in early 2002 to lobby the sale of AWACS plane to Malaysia, lobbying the defence ministry………….Friends in Malaysia include sons of KURNIA Boss,TRANSOCEAN Boss, ex-Penang Gerakan’s Toh Kin Woon’s nephew, LOWE Motors Boss………….
Also active behind the lines in venture capital deals and ‘fund raising’ activities in mid 2000.
when rumble is high it’s difficult to ear the real and original subject ….
Don’t hate the Playa, hate the game.
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