The family office of hedge fund billionaire Ray Dalio has been revealed to have purchased two shophouses in Singapore for US$18.9 million, the Financial Times reported, citing sources with direct knowledge of the deal. Located in the Club Street area near the central business district, the shophouses were purchased in 2021.

Shophouses in Singapore are old buildings that combine shops on the ground floor and homes above. Being heritage buildings in with a limited supply, they are seen as good investments.

This makes Dalio yet another billionaire to purchase shophouses in the city-state. Zhang Ying, spouse of Alibaba Group co-founder Jack Ma, spent US$33.3 million for three connected shophouses on Duxton Road in February.

Dalio is the chief investment officer of Bridgewater Associates, whose portfolio includes the likes of Meta, Alphabet, and PDD Holdings. In 2022, the firm expanded its operations in Asia by opening an office in Singapore after receiving a fund management license from the local regulator.

In addition, Dalio has a family office in the city-state, which was first announced in 2020. The year after, Google co-founder Sergey Brin set up his own family office in the country.

Overall, sales of shophouses in Singapore jumped to US$125.1 million in Q1, thanks to high-net-worth investors showing renewed interest. However, a US$2.2 billion money laundering probe in 2023 slowed down sales, making Singapore’s Monetary Authority implement stricter checks on family offices.

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Credit: Tech in Asia