Wee held about 18.5% through both direct holding and other investment vehicles, according to Bloomberg’s analysis of company filings. The Singapore-based bank has a market capitalisation of more than US$35 billion.

“His personal stake ultimately I hope to distribute out to the children, the grandchildren,” Wee Ee Cheong told a briefing for the firm’s earnings on Thursday. “So hopefully they can remember it’s a legacy asset given by the grandfather or great-grandfather.”

Most of Wee Cho Yaw’s stake is already in the family companies, Ee Cheong said, referring to holding companies for the family’s various business interests, which also span real estate and the maker of Tiger Balm.

The elder Wee, who shaped Singapore’s financial landscape by amalgamating several old family-controlled banks, died earlier this month at the age of 95, raising questions about what will happen to his UOB stake.

He amassed a net worth of US$10.4 billion as of February 2024, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.