Singaporean socialite and beauty mogul Kim Lim lives the kind of life we can all only dream of. The 33-year-old daughter of Singaporean billionaire magnate Peter Lim is heir to a US$1.8B (~S$2.38B) fortune, and frequently offers us mere mortals a window into her lavish lifestyle through her Instagram.
There is, however, much more to Kim than just her wealth. If you were ever curious to learn more about Singapore’s very own Crazy Rich Asian, then let us take you through some facts about Kim Lim.
In a now-viral YouTube tell-all interview with fellow influencer, Xiaxue, Kim Lim opened up about having a dark and challenging childhood. In the video, she opened up about the abuse she suffered at the hands of a close family member. When she was around 6 or 7 years old, her abuser would hurt her and burn her with cigarettes when they were drunk.
She shares that her father was unable to intervene since he was not in Singapore at the time, but sent her to boarding school in England at the age of 13 so the abuse would stop. Kim mentions that while she still sees a psychiatrist to cope with the trauma, she has since forgiven her abuser, though they no longer have contact with her.
If you scroll through Kim’s Instagram page, you’ll see dozens of photographs of the lanky socialite, many of which are selfies showing off her porcelain skin, doll-like features, and long black tresses. FaceTune or not, Kim looks like a model, period.
And yet, in an interview with 8days, Kim divulged that she struggled with insecurities around her weight growing up, and was even in the TAF (Trim and Fit) Club. What started in primary school became a longstanding struggle with her body image and an eating disorder that only mellowed when she became pregnant with her first child, Kyden.
We might think of Kim’s wealth as a product of her dad’s riches, but the heiress has actually founded, and currently runs, multiple award-winning aesthetics and hair care companies.
Her first venture was Papilla Haircare, a hair loss and scalp treatment centre that opened in 2019. Since then, she has also established Illumia Therapeutics, which offers skin and body treatments, Illumia Medical, an aesthetics centre, and Illumiaskin, a skincare brand. All her brands are parked under her parent company, KLHealth. Because a girlboss doesn’t stop, Kim is in the midst of expanding her business to Thailand.
While Kim’s Instagram feed flaunts a life of glamour, video interviews with her reveal a much more laidback, down-to-earth persona. She speaks in Singlish and is a self-confessed ah lian. We don’t think most ah lians flaunt a penthouse apartment that doubles as a luxury walk-in wardrobe, but hey, socialities are just like us too. Sort of.
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Kim’s bag collection is equally envious and overwhelming, spanning current and vintage purses. The wardrobe tour videos she has online show endless Dior and Hermès bags, but according to her, the Hermès Himalayan Birkin she owns is one of her most prized possessions. The bag also happens to be one of the most coveted Hermès bags ever, and was, at one point, priced at US$500,000 (~S$659,500). Fun fact: Kim Kardashian owns the same bag too.
Crediting her father for instilling the importance of philanthropy in her from a young age, Kim has now become an avid contributor to several charities. In 2018, for example, she travelled to Mongolia to build traditional homes for the local, underprivileged population. During the pandemic, she donated two meals a day to 1,500 frontline workers alongside local F&B group, Fei Siong.
Just recently, to celebrate her second child, Kim is planning to give out essential baby care supplies to single mothers. Redemptions can be made here.
In 2017, Kim married Kho Bin Khai, who she met in a temple in Thailand. Bin Khai is the father of her first child, Kyden. Three years later, however, she ended the marriage with Bin Khai, but they are still on good terms, according to her interview with Xiaxue.
Fast forward to 2021, Kim announced an engagement to IT entrepreneur, Leslie Leow. Impressive betrothal gifts—which included 15 gold bars—worth $2M were shown on Kim’s Instagram page. They were married in February of 2022 but divorced just two months later. Kim took to her social media once again to share that marriage with Leslie was “super traumatic”.
On 7 August 2024, Kim posted a video to her Instagram feed revealing her pregnancy with her second child. The Straits Times reports that her child has been conceived after rounds of in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), as a single mother.
Kim’s life reveals that there’s so much more to the billionaire heiress than her father’s wealth. Sources close to the heiress share that while she may be very wealthy, she’s also kind, generous, and a driven careerwoman.
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