SINGAPORE, Sept. 12 -- Six grandchildren of late Singapore tycoon Goh Cheng Liang, including a New York academic and a Bali charity founder, have each inherited billion-dollar stakes in his paint empire after the 98-year-old billionaire's death last month.

Each heir has inherited stakes in a publicly traded firm worth more than US$1 billion (RM4.2 billion), marking a rare generational skip in Asian wealth transfers, Bloomberg reported.

Goh founded Nippon Paint South East Asia, or Nipsea, which runs the largest paint-making operations in the Asia Pacific region.

Filings show that in December, Wuthelam Holdings Pte, the family's investment company, transferred a 55 per cent stake in Tokyo-listed Nippon Paint Holdings Co. to six of Goh's ...