𝐃𝐘𝐍𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐘 ── 𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒛𝒚 𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒔. ✔︎

𝟬𝟭𝟲.

Another high-ranking official I spoke to, Lt. Col. Naveen Sinha, says, "I can't tell you exactly what he did, because that's classified information. But let's just say that Michael Teo has been instrumental in helping to bolster our intelligence capabilities. We were sorry to see him go."

What led Teo to leave a promising career with MINDEF to go into the private sector? "Love. I fell for a beautiful woman, got married, and decided that I needed to start acting like a married man-all the constant travel visiting army bases around the world and working through the night was no longer for me. Plus, I needed to build my own empire for the sake of my son and my wife," Teo says, his piercing hawk-like eyes flickering with emotion.

When I quiz him about his wife, he remains somewhat evasive. "She prefers to stay out of the limelight." Spying a black-and-white portrait of a stunning woman in his bedroom, I ask, "Is that her?" "Yes, but that was taken quite a few years ago," he says. I take a closer look and discover that the photograph is signed "To Astrid-who still eludes me, Dick." "Who's 'Dick,' " I ask? "It's actually some photographer named Richard Burton who died awhile back," Michael says. Wait a minute, was this picture taken by the legendary fashion photographer Richard Avedon? "Oh yeah, that's his name."

Intrigued by this astonishing tidbit, I went sleuthing into Astrid Teo's past. Was she a high-fashion model in New York? As it turns out, Astrid is not just another pretty Methodist Girls Schoolgirl who married well and became a pampered housewife. Pinnacle can now reveal that she is the only daughter of Henry and Felicity Leong-names that are quite meaningless to most readers of this magazine, but who are apparently influential in their own right.

An expert on Southeast Asian lineage (who wished to remain unnamed) says, "You won't ever find the Leong's on any list because they are far too smart and far too discreet to be visible. They are an exceedingly private Straits Chinese family that goes back generations and has diversified holdings all over Asia-raw materials, commodities, real estate, that sort of thing. Their wealth is vast-Astrid's great-grandfather S. W. Leong used to be called 'the Palm Oil King of Borneo.' If Singapore had an aristocracy, Astrid would be considered a princess."

Another grande dame of Singapore's old-money crowd who will only talk off the record tells me, "It's not just her Leong blood that makes her important. Astrid is loaded on both sides. Her mother is Felicity Young, and let me just tell you, the Youngs make everybody else look like paupers because they intermarried with the T'siens and the Shangs. Alamak, I've already told you too much."

Maybe you know her cousin, multi-billionaire and business tycoon Ramona Young. Tycoon of real estate and stock exchange. Yes! Astrid is related to the Ramona Young.

Can this mysteriously powerful family be responsible for Teo's meteoric success? "Absolutely not!" Teo says angrily. Then, catching himself, he breaks into a laugh. "Originally, I was the one who married up, I'll admit that. But nowadays I fit in very well with her family specifically because I never asked for their help-I was determined to succeed entirely on my own."

And succeed he has-by now everyone knows how Teo's fledgling tech firm was suddenly acquired by a Silicon Valley company in 2010, increasing his net worth by several hundred million dollars. While most men might have been content to spend the rest of their lives staring out at the ocean view from one of Annabel Lee's luxury resorts, Teo doubled down and started his own tech-focused venture capital firm.

"I had no interest in retiring at thirty-three. I felt like I had been handed this golden opportunity, and I didn't want to take it for granted. There is so much talent and ingenuity right here in Singapore, and I wanted to find Asia's next generation of Sergey Brins and provide them with the wings to fly," Teo says. So far, his bets haven't just soared like eagles, they've rocketed to the moon. His apps Gong Simi? and Ziak Simi? have revolutionized the way Singaporeans communicate and argue about food, and several of the start-ups he has funded have been acquired by behemoths like Google, Alibaba Group, and Tencent. The Heron Wealth Report estimates that Teo is now worth close to a billion dollars-not bad for a thirty-six-year-old who shared a bedroom with two of his brothers until he went to college.

So how does a man like Teo enjoy the spoils of his fortune? For starters, there is the contemporary villa in Bukit Timah that anyone driving past could easily mistake for an Aman Resort. Built around several reflecting pools and Mediterranean-style gardens, the sprawling house is already getting a bit cramped for Teo's growing collection of war artifacts and sports cars. "We are in the process of building a new home, and have been interviewing prospective architects like Renzo Piano and Jean Nouvel. We really want something revolutionary, a home like nothing Singapore's ever seen."

Until then, Teo takes me on a tour of his exclusive booty. On the ground-floor gallery, samurai swords from the Edo period and a massive canon from the Napoleonic War are displayed alongside his sparklingly restored Porsches, Ferraris, and Aston Martins. "I'm taking my time, but I hope to amass the finest collection of vintage sports cars outside the Western Hemisphere. See this 1963 Ferrari Modena Spyder over here?" Teo says, as he rubs the chrome work lovingly with his index finger. "This is the actual Ferrari that Ferris Bueller drove on his day off."

And just home from kindergarten is Teo's adorable son, Cassian, who enters the room doing a series of cartwheels. Teo grabs him by the collar of his shirt and lifts the boy into his arms. "All these things I possess, though, are nothing to me without this little rascal here." Cassian, a high-spirited boy who has inherited his parents' extraordinary looks, will turn six later this year, and Teo is determined to pass on the secrets of his success to his son. "I'm a true believer in the adage 'spare the rod and spoil the child.' I think kids need a great deal of discipline, and they need to be trained to function at their highest level. For example, my son is exceedingly smart, and I don't feel that he's being challenged at his kindergarten, and this will be very bold of me to say, but I don't think he'll be challenged at any primary school in Singapore either."

So does that mean that the Teos plan to send their child abroad to a boarding school at such an early age? "We haven't made up our minds yet, but we think we'll either send him to Gordonstoun in Scotland [the alma mater of both Prince Philip and Prince Charles] or Le Rosey in Switzerland. For my son, nothing is more important than the best education that money can buy-I want him to go to school with future kings and world leaders, people who really shake up the world," he fervently declares. Michael Teo is undoubtedly one of these people, and with such a dedicated vision and love for his son, it's no wonder he is Pinnacle's Father of the Year!

Ramona was seething as Theodore took the paper away from her, in fear of her ripping the article right then and there. Fishing out her phone, she called the head of press in Singapore. She didn't listen to whatever those bumbling fools were saying, in a blood-chilling voice, all she said was, "Make sure I never see that Pinnacle article of Micheal and Cassian Teo ever again,"

she hung up the phone.

"Oh-here he comes, looking blacker than the devil. Let's have some fun with him, shall we?" Harry Leong said to his friend. "Lovely day, isn't it?" he called out.

"It might have been, had you not..." Michael Teo began in a surly tone, before catching sight of the man standing next to his father-in-law. It was Hu Lee Shan, the minister of commerce, nattily dressed in a brightly striped Sligo golf shirt.

"Good morning, Mr. Teo," the minister said jovially.

Forcing a smile, Michael said, "Good morning, sir." No wonder he was able to sabotage my meeting so quickly. He's golfing with the friggin' boss of the boss of the Monetary Authority!

"Thank you for meeting me on such short notice," Harry continued politely. "Now, I'll get right to the point: this matter over the silly magazine story."

"I'm sorry, Dad. It was never my intention for your name to get mentioned," Michael began.

"Oh I don't care about my name. I mean, who am I in the grand scheme of things, right? I'm a public servant-people can print any sort of nonsense they want about me. It's all much ado about nothing in my opinion, but, you see, other names were mentioned in that article. Other people who are touchy about such things. Like my wife and my mother-in-law. That side of the family. You know how we mustn't ever upset Astrid's grandmother, or Uncle Alfred. Or even Ramona for that matter. She tells me the fact you included her was absolutely irrelevant"

"Heh heh heh-no one should ever upset Alfred Shang or Ramona Young," chuckled the minister.

Michael wanted to roll his eyes. What was the big deal about Alfred Shang and Ramona Young that made every man cower in their presence? "I really had no idea that reporter was going to go digging. It was only supposed to be a flattering stor-"

Harry cut him off mid-word. "The Tattle people know never to write about us. So you went to the other magazine, Pompous or whatever it's called. Tell me, what did you hope to achieve?"

"I thought the article would allow me to increase my company's profile while respecting Astrid's-and your family's-need for privacy."

"And do you think it does? I'm assuming you've read the article by now."

Michael swallowed hard. "It doesn't quite do what I had hoped."

"Makes you out to be a pretentious buffoon, doesn't it?" Harry said, as he reached for another putter. "Try this Honma, Lee Shan."

The minister executed a precise chipping swing and the golf ball rolled smoothly into the hole.

"Nice shot, sir," Michael said.

"Do you play, Mr. Teo?"

"I do when I can."

The minister glanced at Harry as he stepped up to the tee box and said, "You're a lucky man-you have a son-in-law who golfs. My kids are far too preoccupied with their important lives to ever play with me."

"We should all play at my club at Sentosa sometime. The ocean views are spectacular," Michael offered.

Harry paused in the middle of his golf swing. "You know, I've never set foot in that club and I plan to die never having set foot there. If I'm not at St. Andrews or Pebble Beach, the only place I play is the old course right here."

"I feel the same way, Harry," the minister said. "Didn't you use to catch Concorde to London on Fridays after work and then hop over to Edinburgh just to play a round at St. Andrews?"

"Those were the old days when I only had the weekends to spare. Now that I'm semiretired, I can go a whole week at Pebble Beach."

Michael fumed in silence, wondering when this audience was ever going to end. As if reading his mind, his father-in-law looked him in the eye and said, "I need you to do something for me. I need you to go in person and apologize to your mother-in-law."

"Of course. I'll even write a letter to the magazine disavowing the article, if that's what you want."

"There's no need- that Ramona Young had made sure that magazine never saw the light of day again," Harry said lightly.

Michael's eyes widened.

"Heh heh heh. Ramona Young strikes again," the minister cracked.