An academic in New York and the founder of a Bali charity are among six billionaires who inherited stakes in the paint empire built by Singapore’s second-richest man.

The six are grandchildren of late Asian tycoon Goh Cheng Liang, who died in Singapore last month at age 98. Each has inherited stakes in a publicly traded firm worth more than $US1 billion ($1.5 billion) per person.

The handover of the fortune marks an unusual transfer of assets for an ultrarich Asian family that has skipped one generation.

Goh was the founder of Nippon Paint South East Asia, or Nipsea, which manages Asia Pacific’s biggest paint-making businesses.

Filings show that a 55 per cent stake in Tokyo-listed Nippon Paint Holdings, Japan’s biggest paint maker, was transferred from the family’s investment company,

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