Welcome to Gerald's Story

Personal Biography

Passionate Life Coach

I was born in the seventies Singapore, a period of common hardship, kampongs and pig-rearing farms for most ordinary people. But I was different…. and fortunate. I was born into a completely different class of family, one that never tasted hardships, smelled pig dungs or even played with spiders when young.

I never knew how living in a hot, crampy zinc-roof attap house in a kampong actually felt like, or how is it even possible to have mosquitoes bite you when you’re asleep at night.

You may call me a member of  'The Lucky Sperm Club’, one who is so fortunate enough to be born into a elite, wealthy family, especially in that period of backward Singapore. And we were not just wealthy, but very wealthy. We were the top 1% of the 1% of the rich elites then.

As young boy growing up in the seventies and the eighties, I lived in large 30,000 square feet bungalows, semi-detached landed homes and private condominiums in 9, 10, 11 prime districts with mom and dad. (My parents divorced when I was 5 years old). My dad and my many uncles and aunties were very fortunate also, enjoying the tremendous wealth built by my late grandfather himself.

If wealth and fortune has 4 seasons, this would be spring time.

My late grandfather made his riches through various businesses and properties, prospering and taking advantage of the early growth of Singapore with his tremendous foresight. Some of our family businesses ranged from very well-known local consumer brands, retail and watches. We owned commercial buildings in the CBD area and some even had my grandfather’s name on it.

We were property developers too, owned big lands and built many terrace houses in the sub-urban areas. My grandfather was head of many business communities and was awarded the PBM title by the President for his philantrophic efforts and many contributions to Singapore.

In my early years as a curious child, I would often pop to visit my dad and grandfather at their workplace. My grandfather would always have me sit in his boardroom meetings to learn. He would often impart many of his wealth principles, and therefore I was very fortunate to get a first-hand-look at how the very rich gets rich and what they really do.

That’s spring and we went from here to winter.

My grandfather passed on and our entire family went into chaos over the huge multi-million dollar assets my grandfather left.

My dad never received his fair share of wealth, due to a huge internal sibling squabbles, back-stabbings and in-house political rivalry. He died young from cancer, not long after my grandfather. My mom and I had to move into a HDB flat, and it was my very first time, at age 15, that I first experience hardship.

To supplement incomes while schooling, I started part-time work from age 15 while schooling, working various jobs from waiter, wood-cutter, theme-park attendant, various salesman jobs, etc. Life has become different and I had the opportunity, unlike many, to personally experience our social-economic ladders of the ultra-rich enclave, poor and middle-income class. 

Over the years, I remembered my late grandfather’s wealth teachings and put them into real practice. I run my first business at age 24 and bought my first investment property at age 26.

In both businesses and properties, I’ve successfully withstood the volatile market’s ups and downs of the past two decades, even beyond, through my late grandfather’s wealth principles. Indeed, they’ve proven time-tested and practical.

Many people I know of dreams to be rich or make millions. But many fail to comprehend that being rich and making millions is not all that fairy tales concocted in the movies, famous personalities, and the media. They may be rich or look one, but many are never happy. I was born into an ultra-rich family, am I to say I led a happy childhood? My parents divorced when I was just 5 years old, my family broke up completely including my dad’s side. There was lots of bad blood.

I can truthfully say it into your eyes, you do not want to be in my shoes if you ever had that chance. And I wished I was born ordinary.

There’re many self proclaimed millionaires and investment ‘experts’ today who claim you can make millions and also be happy, show you beautiful pictures of nice big cars and big houses…..Think again!

They don’t know what they are talking about, or think they know enough of what the really rich do and the life they lead. They've very likely never experienced and fully comprehend what a millionaire/billionaire lifestyle is, and the emotional pains, broken family secrets and dirty laundry kept well-hidden from public eye. 

I hope my personal life experiences, coming both from the rich as well as a poor background, will bring you valuable insights into the elusive world of the real wealthy rich, the dos and don’ts, the haves and have nots.

A Bowl of Rice hopes to capture this essence for you through my coaching, articles, writings, and life philosophies.