Jho Low

Early life

Low grew up in George Town, on Penang Island. His grandfather Low Meng Tak was a businessman born in Guangdong in China. Meng Tak had interests in iron-ore mining, liquor distilleries, and real estate in China and Thailand in the 1960s and 1970s. Jho Low's father "Larry" Low Hock Peng was an executive for an investment holding company called MWE Holdings in the 1990s. Larry is also chairman and stockholder of Frenken Group, a company listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange.

Low was the youngest of three children. He attended Chung Ling High School and The International School of Penang (Uplands) before being sent to the elite Harrow School in London. In London he developed a close relationship with Riza Aziz. He then enrolled in the undergraduate program of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton Business School, where he continued to develop connections with Malaysians as well as Kuwaiti and Jordanian interests.

Low can speak Malay, English, Cantonese, Hokkien and Teochew.

Business dealings and wealth

Although earlier in his career, Low had often claimed to be investing and making purchases on behalf of other investors or "friends", in 2015 Low suggested that his family had considerable independent means. While a 2015 New York Times article suggested that his family was of "somewhat deflated affluence," a 2014 Wall Street Journal profile had called him a "scion" and estimated his family wealth at US$1.75 billion.

Early activities

According to the New York Times, "[b]y 2007, [Low] had formed an investment group that included a Malaysian prince, a Kuwaiti sheikh and a friend from the United Arab Emirates who went on to become ambassador to the United States and Mexico." Low is the principal steward of Jynwel Capital, along with older brother Szen Low. He has cultivated relationships with some of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds, including Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Development Co and the Kuwait Investment Authority. Jynwel is connected with deals including the acquisition of New York's Park Lane Hotel for US$660 million in 2013 with The Witkoff Group and Mubadala; the takeover of Coastal Energy in 2014 for US$2.2 billion; and the buyout of EMI's music publishing business in 2012 for US$2.2 billion with the Blackstone Group, Sony Corporation and Mubadala. Low was the architect for Jynwel Capital's bid to buy Reebok from Adidas AG in October 2014. The bid was for US$2.2 billion.

Low advises Aziz in the management of Red Granite Pictures, a Hollywood production company responsible for films such as Wolf of Wall Street and Dumb and Dumber To. Recovery of the rights in both movies were the subject of actions for recovery by the US Government in 2013 and 2016, respectively, as procured from the proceeds of corruption.

Allegations

Najib Razak gained the post of Malaysian Prime Minister in 2009. Soon, he became president of the board of advisers for 1MDB, the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund.

Although Low never received an official position, he admits that he occasionally "consulted" with 1MDB, and was involved in a number of transactions connecting his own interests with those of 1MDB.

In an interview with Euromoney, Low stated "I never get involved with 1MDB. 1MDB never asked me to advise them or pay me a fee or do anything, and I have been very clear on that. If someone at 1MDB wants to call me and say: ‘You know, Jho, what’s your view on the Middle East?’ I’ll give them my view on the Middle East.”

Low has been criticised as a conduit of, participant in, and beneficiary of questionable practices. For instance, the Wall Street Journal has reported that a $33.5 million condominium in Manhattan was owned by a shell company under control of Low's family trust, and then was transferred to a shell company controlled by Razak's stepson. Another "home in Beverly Hills known as the pyramid house for a gold pyramid in its garden" was owned by a shell company controlled by the Low family trust, and was transferred to Razak's stepson by simply transferring control of the shell company to him.

In June 2017, the US Government, in proceedings brought against Low in the Central District of California, sought return of US$540 million worth of assets derived from a $4.5 billion fraud on the Malaysian 1MDB wealth fund.

Politics

Consistent with his personal connections to the Razak family, Low supported the Prime Minister during the 2013 elections. For instance, he organised a free pro-government concert in his home state of Penang. The concert featured American musicians Busta Rhymes and Ludacris and was criticised as unfair electioneering by the local, opposition government.

Social life

Low dated socialite Paris Hilton, Taiwanese singer Elva Hsiao and supermodel Miranda Kerr. Low gained early notoriety by spending extravagant sums in New York and Las Vegas parties. For instance, one invitation birthday celebration included Britney Spears, Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Jamie Foxx, and Robert De Niro in a special tent outside the Wynn Hotel with security four-layers deep. He was also joined by the likes of Chris Brown, Psy, and Busta Rhymes. The 300-plus VIPs were entertained by Leonardo DiCaprio rapping onstage with Q-Tip and Busta Rhymes. LMFAO's Redfoo and the Party Rock Crew also performed. "Everyday It's Your Birthday" song was also launched at the birthday celebration by producer Swizz Beatz, Ludacris and Chris Brown. At one party, a friend reportedly presented the 30-something Jho with a $2.5 million, 1,000-horsepower Bugatti Veyron. He was photographed with Paris Hilton while watching the FIFA World Cup 2010 at the Johannesburg Stadium. He is also connected to Lindsay Lohan, Nicky Hilton and David Katzenberg, son of the founder of DreamWorks Studios. He has also been connected to very high value art purchases, such as Basquiat's "Dustheads" for nearly $50m.

Philanthropy

Low's push into philanthropy began about a year after he became a target of suspicion in relation to his source of wealth and connection to 1MDB. After a reported cancer scare in 2012, he decided to engage in global philanthropy.

Following this experience, Jho Low founded Jynwel Foundation in 2012 to honour the Low family tradition, started by his grandfather, who financed schools, hospitals and community centres in his hometown once he was financially stable. Jho Low's grandfather died from cancer in 2013.

In 2013, Jynwel Foundation committed US$50 million over 12 years to the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, the hospital where Jho Low spent six months recovering from his infection and cancer scare. The funds were to begin a pilot program using IBM's Watson question answering computer system as a clinical decision support system in cancer. The vision was to democratise cancer care globally by ingesting, analysing and organising vast amounts of data to help physicians determine the most promising treatments for cancer patients.

Jho Low also serves as a founding member of Panthera's Global Alliance, on behalf of the Jynwel Foundation, to save the world's 38 wild cat species and their environments, along with Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Dr. Thomas Kaplan, and Hemendra Kothari. The group has committed US$80 million over the next ten years to fund solutions for conserving the world's wild cats and their environments while mitigating their primary threats.

He is also involved with Alicia Keys' Keep A Child Alive, by underwriting the organisation's annual flagship fundraiser event in New York City on behalf of the Jynwel Foundation from 2012 to 2015. He donated $250,000 to Keep a Child Alive in 2013 to expand the organisation's HIV programs in sub-Saharan Africa.

Jho Low also committed US$25 million over 15 years to the humanitarian news service IRIN on behalf of the Jynwel Foundation in November 2014. The appeal of the donation stems from his grandfather's personal interest in humanitarian crises around the world. IRIN was funded by the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs for 20 years, which recently announced it would stop funding the service in 2014. This commitment will allow IRIN to restart operations as a nonprofit media venture.