Good class bungalows (GCBs) are the crème de la crème of the Singapore property market and way out of the leagues of ordinary men. These properties are also the prime category of appreciating assets that can yield 2-4 fold in a couple of decades. It’s no surprise then that these homes belong to some of the richest and most prominent figures in local history.
Let’s take a closer look at these 15 good class bungalows—who owns them, and what these not-so-humble abodes cost.
1. Razer CEO Tan Min-Liang’s GCB on Third Ave
Image adapted from: Google Maps
Owner: Tan Min-Liang
Price: $52.8M | $1,708 psf
Land area: 30,954sqft
Location: Third Ave
First up on the list, we have Tan Min-Liang, the founder of American-Singaporean mega tech company Razer Inc. As someone who calls, California, Singapore and Taiwan home, Min-Liang made the headlines last year when he purchased his $52.8M home along Third Ave.
2. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew’s GCB along Queen Astrid Park
Image adapted from: Google Maps
Owner: Chew Shou Zi
Price: $86M | $2,700psf
Land area: 31,800sqft
Location: Queen Astrid Park
Queen Astrid Park is one GCB residential estate in Singapore that houses some of the island’s most ostentatious homes, with one belonging to TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew. The 31,800sqft home was also purchased in mid-2021, with a transacted price of $86M.
The house is set for a total overhaul, and naturally, we’re already itching to see the final outcome.
3. Secretlab co-founder Ian Ang in Caldecott Hill Estate
Image adapted from: Google Maps
Owner: Ian Ang
Price: S$36M | $1,537psf
Land area: 31,800sqft
Location: 27 Olive Road in the Caldecott Hill Estate
If you’re someone who traded in your ordinary bedroom chair for a Secretlab gaming chair, then your humble order was one of the millions that contributed to Secretlab co-founder, Ian Ang’s large net worth. At just 30 years old, Ian is the proud owner of a 23,424-sqft GCB that sits in the Caldecott Hill Estate.
Image credit: EdgeProp Singapore – Samiel Isaac
The GCB offers panoramic views of Singapore’s cityscape and comes with an expansive and private garden space and pool. While the home retains most of its 1940s charm, Ian has plans for a complete renovation.
4. Grab CEO’s wife Chloe Tong in Bin Tong Park
Image adapted from: Google Maps
Owner: Chloe Tong
Price: $40M | $1,849psf
Land area: 21,637sqft
Location: Bin Tong Park
Holland village is known for its chill vibes and beautiful homes, and this 31,800sqft GCB is one fine example. Purchased by Chloe Tong, the wife of Grab’s CEO Anthony Tan in 2021, the $40M GCB in Bin Tong Park has all the makings of a luxe, countryside holiday home, yet it is set to be torn down and rebuilt.
5. Dyson founder in Bukit Timah
Image credit: Arch Daily
Owner: Sir James Dyson
Price: $45M | $3,311psf
Land area: 15,100sqft
Location: 50 Cluny Road, Bukit Timah
While most of the GCB owners on this list have grand plans to redevelop their purchased homes, Sir James Dyson is one buyer who is celebrating the home that he’s got.
Image credit: Guz Architects
This Cluny Road home is quite an architectural delight with its fluid infinity pool and water features, definitive angles, and glass spiral staircase feature that strangely resembles the Dyson vacuum’s motor.
6. HaiDiLao founder’s GCB on Gallop Road
Image adapted from: Google Maps
Owner: Zhang Yong
Price: $42M | $1,940psf
Land area: 21,649sqft
Location: Gallop Road
It’s almost as if 2021 was the year for GCB purchases, and closing that good year was Mr Zhang Hanzhi’s $42M Gallop Road GCB purchase. Mr Zhang Hanzhi is the son of hotpot chain Haidilao’s chairman, Mr Zhang Yong.
The home, which sits in a blind alley, fetched a record-breaking psf price of $1,940 for that estate and was designed by the folks of K2LD Architects.
7. Yun Nam Hair Care Boss Andy Chua at Old Holland Road
Image credit: Straits Times
Owner: Andy Chua of Yun Nam Hair Care
Price: $33M | $1,108psf
Land area: 29,800sqft
Location: Brizay Park off Old Holland Road
With its 9 outlets around the island, Yun Nam is a brand name synonymous with hair care that most of us have grown up hearing. Back in 2016, Andy Chua, the chairman of Ames United – which has Yun Nam Hair Care, along with a slew of other beauty and wellness brands under its belt – put down a $33M GCB along Brizay Park.
Image adapted from: Google Maps
What’s interesting about this purchase is that Andy also owns the GCB next door, and construction has already begun to merge both properties to make one massive home.
8. Nippon Paint Singapore founder’s $93M GCB on Garlick Avenue
Image credit: Google Maps
Owner: Goh Cheng Liang
Price: $93M
Land area: 101,550sqft
Location: Garlick Ave
Ask anybody about Nippon Paint and the first thing that will come to mind are its iconic commercials featuring sumo wrestlers. Just as big as these loincloth-clad men is the company’s reputation, cementing its position as a household name in every Asian home.Which is exactly why it doesn’t surprise us that Nippon Paint Singapore’s founder owns a lavishly-priced GCB worth $93M on Garlick Avenue.
While we couldn’t get an exact estimate of the bungalow’s built-up area, the 101,550sqft plot of freehold land it rests on is nothing short of impressive.
9. GCB of Goh Cheng Liang’s granddaughter at Queen Astrid Park, worth $44.5M
Image credit: Google Maps
Owner: Granddaughter of Goh Cheng Liang
Price: $44.5M | $1,271 psf
Land area: 35,011 sqft
Location: Queen Astrid Park
What we do have the size of is Goh Cheng Liang’s granddaughter’s GCB in Queen Astrid Park purchased at $44.5M more than 5 years ago. The residents of the home are in good company here, being in close proximity to TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew’s home.
10. Fragrance hotel CEO James Koh Wee Meng’s multiple GCBs
Bought old GCB bungalow along Lornie Road worth $24.8 million
Image credit: Google Maps
Owner: James Koh Wee Meng
Price: $24.8M | 981 psf
Land area: 25,271 sqft
Location: Lornie Road
Evidently, James Koh Wee Meng prefers to have a diverse portfolio of homes. The wildly successful hotelier’s family is in possession of 3 GCBs all over Singapore, the first of which is located on Lornie Road, and cost $24.8M. Spanning a massive 25,271sqft, the price tag on this property is relatively cheap, especially when compared to other homes on this list.
Bungalow at Hillside Drive for $19.25 million
Image credit: Google Maps
Owner: James Koh Wee Meng
Price: $19.25M | 915 psf
Land area: 21,046sqft
Location: Hillside Drive
Even cheaper, but certainly not affordable, is this next GCB along Hillside Drive that was purchased at $19.25M. This home is the very definition of an investment purchase, situated on an impressive plot of land like a tabula rasa for one of the hotelier’s visions to take shape.
GCB owned by James Koh Wee Meng’s wife at Bishopsgate for $65 million
Image credit: Google Maps
Owner: Lim Wan Looi
Price: $65M | 2,208 psf
Land area: 29,435sqft
Location: Bishopsgate
Birds of a feather flock together, and that idiom certainly holds true with this GCB-buying couple. James’ wife, Lim Wan Looi, purchased this $65M GCB at Bishopsgate, along Botanic Gardens. Among the 3 properties owned by the couple, this GCB is valued the highest thanks to its close proximity to Singapore’s central.
11. Hao Mart CEO Dr Tan Kim Yong’s GCB at Jervois Hill
Image credit: Mercurio Design Lab
Owner: Dr Tan Kim Yong
Price: Not available
Land area: 30,138sqft
Location: Jervois Hill
Before you ask: no, this mansion doesn’t belong to Iron Man. This futuristic-looking GCB, auspiciously shaped like the figure 8, belongs to Hao Mart’s CEO, Dr Tan Kim Yong. In fact, principles of feng shui are incorporated into every aspect of its design, which might explain Hao Mart’s eminent success in the grocery retail industry.
Image credit: Mercurio Design Lab
Additionally, some of you might have seen this house from the house tour posted by 987DJ Germaine Leonora on her TikTok—she’s Dr Tan’s daughter.
@mediacorp in the #hotseat this time, our producer, Indah, grilled our #letscelebrate2024 host & Mediacorp 987 DJ – our beauty with brains, @Germaine Leonora 🦋! 🔥 #mediacorphotseat #mediacorpletscelebrate2024 #mediacorp #mewatch #whattowatch
12. Sheng Siong co-founder Lim Hock Leng’s $50M GCB
Image credit: Ta.le Architects
Owner: Lim Hock Leng
Price: $50M | 1,483 psf
Land area: 33,700sqft
Location: Ridout Road
While it may not look as futuristic on the outside, this home owned by Sheng Siong co-founder Lim Hock Leng certainly meets the criteria of a sci-fi inspired home, camouflaging most of its floors like a top-secret bunker.
Image credit: Ta.le Architects
Lim Hock Leng reportedly told the architects who designed his home to do so with his neighbours in mind, not him. By building a home that blends in with its surrounding lush greenery, he has ensured that he adds value to his neighbours’ views of the surroundings.
Image credit: Type0 Architecture
13. Jet Li’s $20M GCB in Binjai Rise
Image credit: AsiaOne/The Business Times
Owner: Jet Li
Price: $20M | 871 psf
Land area: 22,723sqft
Location: Binjai Rise
Jet Li is one of the most prolific martial artists of his generation—if you’re impressed with any fight scene in modern Hollywood films, you can bet that Jet Li influenced it in some way. While he may not reside in Singapore anymore, his $20M GCB purchased in 2009 still does.
The purchase coincided with his plans for establishing a philanthropic presence in Singapore with The One foundation. Ultimately, his expansion did not take off as well as projected, so he hasn’t been here as often as he was meant to be. We estimate that the valuation of the GCB has since then gone up, with other bungalows of similar size in the area being sold for above $30M.
14. $50M GCB of Alibaba co-founder James Sheng along Leedon Park
Image credit: Google Maps
Owner: James Sheng
Price: $50M | $1,976psf
Land area: 25,130 sqft
Location: Leedon Park
James Sheng is a co-founder of Alibaba and major contributor to the company’s success. He’s famously cited to be the man behind the company’s iconic smile logo.
Image credit: Tuan Sing Holdings Limited
He certainly does have something to smile about: James owns a gorgeous GCB purchased at $50M. Spanning 25,130 sqft, this mansion is situated in a prime location at Leedon Park near Holland, a 10-15 minute drive away from town.
15. UOB CEO’s youngest child Grant Wee’s $40M GCB at Ford Avenue
Image credit: Google Maps
Owner: Grant Wee
Price: $39.5M | $2,051 psf
Land area: 19,500sqft
Location: Ford avenue
Purchased at $39.5M, Grant Wee’s 19,500sqft bungalow ranks as the 16th-most expensive landed home in Bukit Timah, eminently priced even among GCBs. At the end of March 2024, Grant Wee purchased a share of the home from former Keppel CEO Choo Chiau Beng, making them both co-owners.
Good Class Bungalows and their famous owners
Even though these GCBs are way out of the home budgets we’ll ever have in our lifetimes, it’s always fun to live vicariously through the rich and famous. With most of the GCBs on this list set for a full makeover, we’re waiting in anticipation to see just how magnificent these homes will look in a couple of years.
Fuel your home envy and check out these other articles:
- Most expensive neighbourhoods to live in
- Amazing Sentosa Cove homes
- Most expensive condos in Singapore
Cover image adapted from: Guz Architects, Google Maps
This article was originally published on 11th May 2022, and was updated on 22nd April 2024.
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