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Kim Lim

Revision as of 10:35, 12 August 2020 by Dayana Rizal (talk | contribs)

Kim Lim (born 1992) is Singaporean socialite, being the daughter of Singaporean billionaire Peter Lim.[1][2] Despite her social media presence on Instagram where she has over 267,000 followers, Kim keeps a relatively low-profile family life - even managing to keep her pregnancy out of the public eye.[3] However, her connections with high-profile celebrities like Christiano Ronaldo, David Beckham and Big Bang's Seungri has brought her into the limelight on several occasions. Kim has been described as a down-to-earth person and spends a substantial amount of her time doing charity work.[4]

Kim Lim
Kim Lim.jpg
Born1992
EducationDegree in Business Management
Alma materSingapore Institute of Management (SIM)
Spouse(s)Kho Bin Kai (m. 2017)
ChildrenKyden Kho (b. 2017)
Parent(s)Peter Lim, Venus Teo Geok Fong

Background

 
Peter Lim (pictured) is a Singaporean investor with a net worth of US$2 billion. Photo from Young Parents.

Early life

Despite being Peter Lim’s one of two children, Kim maintains that her father let her lead an ordinary childhood and that she only knew of his wealth in her adolescence.[5]

Kim's parents divorced when she was 4 years old. Recounting the 7-years-long divorce to an interviewer in 2019, Kim described it as: 

“... the darkest period of [her life]”.[6]

The messy divorce came to an end in 2002 but Kim still remembers shuttling between her parents' homes every two to three days.[7] Kim’s father married Cherie Lim in 2003, who then became Kim’s stepmother.[8][9]

Education

Kim completed her primary school education at Singapore Chinese Girls School.[10] In a 2018 interview with First Classe, Kim revealed that she had been part of the school's Trim and Fit (TAF) Club and was often bullied for her weight.[11] As a result of the bullying, she developed an eating disorder.


After primary school, Kim flew to London where she attended Queenswood - the all-girls boarding school in Hertfordshire - for 5 years.[12] It was during this time that her bulimia became severe. In a separate interview with 8 Days, Kim shared that: 

“... (she) would eat but wouldn’t keep my (her) food down”.[13]

Upon Kim’s return to Singapore, she enrolled in Anglo Chinese School (Independent) and Hwa Chong International School.[14] She later earned a degree in Business Management at Singapore Institute of Management (SIM).[15]

Social status

 
Kim Lim's stylish posts have given her a reputation as a fashion influencer. Photo from Instagram.

In 2014, Kim reported that she had 80 pairs of Christian Louboutin shoes and 40 Chanel bags.[16][17] Citing how she used to buy 5 Chanel bags at one go, Kim states that she has become more prudent in her spending.[18]

Influencer

When Kim first started posting on Instagram, she was recognised as a fashion icon due to her stylish posts.[19] She quickly gained 17,000 followers in one and a half years. As of February 2020, Kim has a following of 267,000.[20] She is seen at local high-society events like ICON Ball and even won the Best Dressed title in 2019.[21] Kim has worked with several brands, most of them beauty companies.[22] She has remarked that she intends to stop being an influencer by the age of 30 to work in the operations and marketing aspect of her father’s business.[23]

Relationships

Marriage to Kho Bin Kai & pregnancy

 
Kim pictured with her husband Bin Kai and their son Kyden. Photo from Young Parents.

Kho Bin Kai and Kim met at a Buddhist temple in Thailand.[24] Kim had been attracted to Bin Kai’s “tall frame and his ‘bad boy’ vibe” and found out later that he was her assistant’s friend.[25] From there, Bin Kai and Kim started getting to know each other. After dating for 6 months, the pair registered their marriage in February 2017.[26] Only close family members attended their simple ceremony.[27]


On 5 July 2017, Kim gave birth to her son, Kyden Kho.[28] She had opted for an elective C-section at Thomson Medical Centre, which is also owned by her father.[29] During her pregnancy, Kim stayed off social media as she wanted to keep her pregnancy private.[30] The news of her pregnancy only made headlines when Portuguese footballer Christiano Ronaldo visited Kim and Kyden at the hospital.[31] Following the news, there were speculations that Kim had gotten a shotgun wedding.[32] Kim refuted these rumours in 2018, insisting that she had a planned pregnancy.


Three days after giving birth, Kim announced that her wedding celebration was going to be held on 23 March 2018. The banquet was then postponed to October 2018.[33]

Mario Ho

In 2016, Kim was rumoured to be dating Mario Ho, the son of the business magnate Stanley Ho, after Mario posted a photo of them on Valentine’s Day.[34] Although they did not publicly confirm their relationship at the time, Kim later clarified that they had dated for less than 6 months.[35] The relationship ended because of their busy schedules which had caused them to drift apart.

Charity work

 
Kim pictured in 2019 at a community involvement event. Photo from Instagram.

Kim is said to be a regular volunteer at Apex Day Rehabilitation Centre and Operation Red Shirts.[36][37] She also donates the money earned from reselling her luxury bags to charities.[38]

COVID-19 community involvement (2020)

In February 2020, Kim partnered with Papilla Haircare and illumia therapeutics in a community effort to teach the elderly on how to protect themselves against the COVID-19 virus.[39] According to her Instagram profile, Kim is the ambassador to the two aforementioned brands.

Mongolia (2018)

In 2018, Kim donated houses to the homeless in Mongolia. She visited the eldercare and childcare homes in Mongolia to understand what the less privileged needed in their homes.[40] While there, she also brought the children to see The Great Mongolian Circus.[41] Her charitable acts were covered by Mongolian media outlets.[42] Kim posted a photograph of the built homes on her Instagram page, captioning it with an aspiration for her son to "understand the joy of paying it forward" when he is older.

Newsworthy incidents

Burning Sun scandal (2019)

 
Kim Lim and Big Bang's Seungri were close friends, occasionally appearing on each other's social media accounts. Photo from 8 Days.

The “Burning Sun” sex scandal was one that involved the Korean entertainment industry. Kim had been implicated in the event due to her close friendship with Seungri, a member of the K-pop group Big Bang. Seungri had been accused of prostituting girls to wealthy investors.[43] However, he claimed that those allegations were untrue.[44] Instead, Seungri said that those girls were meant to accompany Kim while she shopped in Seoul.[45]


Kim had publicly denied any involvement in the Burning Sun scandal through a series of Instagram stories,[46] stating that: 

"I am embroiled in this matter simply because I happened to be there that night. I was simply at the wrong place and at the wrong time."[47]

She added that before people caught wind of the scandal, Seungri had called her and asked her a few “weird questions”. Kim stated that she was left confused after the phone call.[48] The series of posts ended with a warning to news outlets to stop associating her with the saga.[49]


Kim and Seungri have been public about their friendship. Once, Seungri was stranded in Bali after a volcano eruption halted airport services. Kim had her father send over a private jet to evacuate Seungri from the island.[50] The two had also attended a Valencia match in Spain where Kim requested for BigBang’s hit song “Fantastic Baby” to be played during half-time.[51]

Spat with Valencia Football Club's fans (2016)

 
Peter Lim purchased Valencia football club in 2014. Photo from Sportskeeda.

In 2016, Kim took a trip to Manchester, United Kingdom where she had attended an English Premier League (EPL) match between Manchester United FC and Arsenal FC. The tickets had been a gift from her father. She had then posted a photo of the tickets on her Instagram.[52] Given that Kim’s father owns Valencia FC, her post provoked the ire of some Valencia fans.[53] These fans accused Kim of showing support to another team, amongst other negative comments. Initially, Kim did not respond to the comments. However, she later did as she felt that the users were overreacting to the point of cyber-bullying her.[54] The saga eventually died down but not before catching the attention of several media agencies.

Target for kidnapper (2014)

In January 2014, Lee Sze Yong was arrested for the high-profile kidnapping of Lim Hock Chee's elderly mother.[55] His trial began in August 2016 and it was revealed then that Lee’s first targets were Kim Lim and her brother.[56][57] In 2018, Kim revealed in an interview that being kidnapped was a real concern for her. As a result, Kim has a security detail to protect her.[58]

"Sponsor" for blogger's birthday bash (2014)

In 2014, Kim was in the public eye after a lifestyle blogger, Sara Shantelle Lim, name-dropped her as one of the “sponsors” for the latter’s lavish birthday bash. The event received much criticism from the general public.[59] Following the backlash, Sara posted a press-release calling Kim a “good friend”, to which Kim denied.[60][61] Kim stated the following: 

"I was a little pissed off and upset that both my father and I were name-dropped in the press release. Now I am dragged into this saga when I didn't even want to be involved."[62]

The duo had met each other through a mutual friend. Kim had contributed S$1,500 worth of beer to the party in exchange for a complimentary eyebrow embroidery service that Sara had offered her earlier.[63]

References / Citations

  1. ↑ Loh, Keng Fatt. “Actress Han Hyo-joo joins Peter Lim's daughter Kim in taking legal action over K-pop scandal gossip”. Asia One. May 11, 2019. Accessed on 5 February 2020.
  2. ↑ Cheow, Sue-Ann. “Local socialite Kim Lim donates homes to the homeless in Mongolia”. The Straits Times. November 7, 2018. Accessed on 5 February 2020.
  3. ↑ Haddad, Hanan. “SOCIALITE KIM LIM AND HER SURPRISE PREGNANCY”. Harper’s Bazaar. July 21, 2017. Accessed on 5 February 2020.
  4. ↑ Yeo, Melissa. “11 Rich Kids Of Instagram – Singapore Version”. Must Share News. February 26, 2015. Accessed on 5 February 2020.
  5. ↑ Khoo, Natalie. “Rich Heirs on Instagram: Kim Lim, real-life Crazy Rich Asian daughter of Singaporean tycoon”. First Classe. August 30, 2018. Accessed on 5 February 2020.
  6. ↑ “Kim Lim opens up about her husband, baby and fake friends”. Young Parents. January 8, 2019. Accessed on 4 February 2020.
  7. ↑ “Billionaire Peter Lim's ex-wife sues HSBC”. The Straits Times. February 12, 2014. Accessed on 5 February 2020.
  8. ↑ Lee, Su Shyan. “Home for family of three is entire 11-storey condo”. Asia One. July 9, 2007. Accessed on 5 February 2020.
  9. ↑ “8 things about socialite Kim Lim, billionaire Peter Lim’s daughter”. Alvinology. July 26, 2017. Accessed on 6 February 2020.
  10. ↑ Lai, Christine. “Billionaire Heiress Kim Lim About Her Eating Disorder And Motherhood”. Girl Style. August 13, 2018. Accessed on 5 February 2020.
  11. ↑ Khoo, Natalie. “Rich Heirs on Instagram: Kim Lim, real-life Crazy Rich Asian daughter of Singaporean tycoon”. First Classe. August 30, 2018. Accessed on 5 February 2020.
  12. ↑ Malak, Natalya and Liew, Elizabeth. “12 Things You Didn’t Know About Singaporean Socialite Kim Lim”. Women’s Weekly. July 23, 2019. Accessed on 5 February 2020.
  13. ↑ Fam, Jonathan. “Billionaire Heiress Kim Lim Opens Up About Her Privileged Life, Her Battle With An Eating Disorder & How Her Son Changed Everything”. 8 Days. June 4, 2018. Accessed on 5 February 2020.
  14. ↑ “Kim Lim opens up about her husband, baby and fake friends”. Young Parents. January 8, 2019. Accessed on 4 February 2020.
  15. ↑ Lim, Leslie Kay. “Kim Lim: Tycoon Peter Lim's daughter and jet-setting princess”. The Straits Times. January 3, 2015. Accessed on 5 February 2020.
  16. ↑ Lee, Jocelyn. “'I'm privileged and I appreciate it'”. The New Paper. March 13, 2014. Accessed on 6 February 2020. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
  17. ↑ Tan, Wen Chuan. “12 Things Peter Lim Owns That Will Make You Jelly”. Must Share News. December 5, 2014. Accessed on 5 February 2020.
  18. ↑ Fam, Jonathan. “Billionaire Heiress Kim Lim Opens Up About Her Privileged Life, Her Battle With An Eating Disorder & How Her Son Changed Everything”. 8 Days. June 4, 2018. Accessed on 5 February 2020.
  19. ↑ Lee, Jocelyn. “'I'm privileged and I appreciate it'”. Asia One. March 15, 2014. Accessed on 5 February 2020.
  20. ↑ “Kim Lim”. Social Blade. Accessed on 5 February 2020.
  21. ↑ Ho, Guo Xiong. “15 Of The Best Dressed Influencers And Socialites At This Year’s ICON Ball”. Her World. April 15, 2019. Accessed on 5 February 2020.
  22. ↑ kimlimhl. Instagram. January 16, 2020. Accessed on 5 February 2020. Retrieved from: https://www.instagram.com/p/B7XjQjoFVWp/
  23. ↑ “Kim Lim opens up about her husband, baby and fake friends”. Young Parents. January 8, 2019. Accessed on 4 February 2020.
  24. ↑ Ann, Danielle. “Who is Kho Bin Kai “BK Kho”? Is he Peter Lim’s son-in-law and Kim Lim’s husband?”. Alvinology. August 30, 2019. Accessed on 5 February 2020.
  25. ↑ “Kim Lim opens up about her husband, baby and fake friends”. Young Parents. January 8, 2019. Accessed on 4 February 2020.
  26. ↑ “Kim Lim postpones her wedding to October, and here's why!”. The Asian Parent. Accessed on 5 February 2020.
  27. ↑ “Kim Lim Opens Up About Her Childhood, Love Life And Upcoming Wedding”. Women’s Weekly. January 6, 2019. Accessed on 5 February 2020.
  28. ↑ Teo, Teng Kiat. “Cristiano Ronaldo sparks fan frenzy in Singapore”. Today. July 21, 2017. Accessed on 6 February 2020.
  29. ↑ “Singapore billionaire offers $396 mln for Thomson Medical”. Reuters. October 29, 2010. Accessed on 6 February 2020.
  30. ↑ Ab, Suhana. “Kim Lim On Why She Hid Her Baby Bump And Life As A New Mum”. Prestige Online. June 7, 2018. Accessed on 5 February 2020.
  31. ↑ Chan Kit Whye, Sean. “Peter Lim’s Daughter Kim Lim Gave Birth, And Nobody Knew Until Cristiano Ronaldo Visited”. Must Share News. July 21, 2017. Accessed on 6 February 2020.
  32. ↑ Fam, Jonathan. “Billionaire Heiress Kim Lim Opens Up About Her Privileged Life, Her Battle With An Eating Disorder & How Her Son Changed Everything”. 8 Days. June 4, 2018. Accessed on 5 February 2020.
  33. ↑ “Kim Lim postpones her wedding to October, and here's why!”. The Asian Parent. Accessed on 5 February 2020.
  34. ↑ “Billionaire Peter Lim's daughter Kim spends Valentine's Day in Paris with Stanley Ho's son”. The Straits Times. February 18, 2016. Accessed on 5 February 2020.
  35. ↑ Tan, Felicia. “Are They Engaged? Socialite Kim Lim And Hong Kong Casino Heir Mario Ho Reportedly Are!”. Her World. January 4, 2016. Accessed on 5 February 2020.
  36. ↑ Malak, Natalya and Liew, Elizabeth. “12 Things You Didn’t Know About Singaporean Socialite Kim Lim”. Women’s Weekly. July 23, 2019. Accessed on 5 February 2020.
  37. ↑ “Kim Lim spills her jet-setting beauty regime”. Prestige Online. October 23, 2019. Accessed on 5 February 2020.
  38. ↑ Fam, Jonathan. “Billionaire Heiress Kim Lim Opens Up About Her Privileged Life, Her Battle With An Eating Disorder & How Her Son Changed Everything”. 8 Days. June 4, 2018. Accessed on 5 February 2020.
  39. ↑ kimlimhl. Instagram. February 24, 2020. Accessed on 28 February 2020. Retrieved from: https://www.instagram.com/p/B86FFNvFFvO/ 
  40. ↑ Cheow, Sue-Ann. “Local socialite Kim Lim donates homes to the homeless in Mongolia”. The Straits Times. November 7, 2018. Accessed on 6 February 2020.
  41. ↑ “Singapore socialite Kim Lim praised for building homes for the poor”. The Asian Parent. Accessed on 6 February 2020.
  42. ↑ Cheow, Sue-Ann. “Socialite Kim Lim hailed for building homes in Mongolia”. Asia One. November 7, 2018. Accessed on 6 February 2020.
  43. ↑ Bahk, Eun-ji. “K-pop star Seungri arranged prostitutes for investors in 2015, say police”. South China Morning Post. April 26, 2019. Accessed on 6 February 2020.
  44. ↑ “Seungri denies allegations of prostitution services, says he and friends were 'bluffing'”. SBS. March 20, 2019. Accessed on 6 February 2020.
  45. ↑ O, Hana. “Billionaire Peter Lim’s socialite daughter Kim separates herself from the K-Pop Seungri scandal”. The Independent. March 27, 2019. Accessed on 5 February 2020.
  46. ↑ Ng, Cherylnn. “Singapore socialite Kim Lim denies involvement with Seungri's nightclub scandal”. Stomp. March 25, 2019. Accessed on 6 February 2020.
  47. ↑ “Billionaire Peter Lim's daughter Kim says she is not involved in Seungri's scandals”. The Straits Times. March 24, 2019. Accessed on 5 February 2020.
  48. ↑ “Kim Lim Denies All Involvement With Seungri’s Scandal And Says Seungri Asked Her “Weird Questions””. KoreaBoo. March 24, 2019. Accessed on 6 February 2020.
  49. ↑ “Singaporean heiress Kim Lim recounts strange phone conversation with Seungri; denies any involvement”. AllKPop. March 24, 2019. Accessed on 6 February 2020.
  50. ↑ Tan, Kendra. “Kim Lim Denies Any Involvement In Seungri’s Scandal”. Today. March 25, 2019. Accessed on 6 February 2020.
  51. ↑ Heng, Melissa. “Singapore tycoon Peter Lim's daughter Kim attends Valencia match with BigBang's Seungri”. The Straits Times. January 7, 2015. Accessed on 6 February 2020.
  52. ↑ Chew, Hui Min. “Online spat between Valencia football fans and club owner's daughter Kim Lim”. The Straits Times. November 23, 2016. Accessed on 6 February 2020.
  53. ↑ Chan, Rachel. “Slammed online: Kim Lim gets into Instagram spat with Valencia fans”. The New Paper. November 24, 2016. Accessed on 5 February 2020.
  54. ↑ Malak, Natalya and Liew, Elizabeth. “12 Things You Didn’t Know About Singaporean Socialite Kim Lim”. Women’s Weekly. July 23, 2019. Accessed on 6 February 2020.
  55. ↑ Lum, Selina. “Sheng Siong kidnapping trial: I was trying my luck, says accused”. Asia One. September 2, 2016. Accessed on 6 February 2020.
  56. ↑ Lee, Amanda. “Man goes on trial in ‘brazen’ Sheng Siong kidnapping case”. The Straits Times. August 30, 2016. Accessed on 6 February 2020.
  57. ↑ Lum, Selina. “Sheng Siong kidnapping: Accused's first target was billionaire Peter Lim's children”. The Straits Times. August 31, 2016. Accessed on 6 February 2020.
  58. ↑ Fam, Jonathan. “Billionaire Heiress Kim Lim Opens Up About Her Privileged Life, Her Battle With An Eating Disorder & How Her Son Changed Everything”. 8 Days. June 4, 2018. Accessed on 5 February 2020.
  59. ↑ “Extravagant or not? Singapore blogger’s S$40,000 birthday bash sparks online debate”. Yahoo!. May 29, 2014. Accessed on 6 February 2020.
  60. ↑ Lee, Jocelyn. “Blogger called 'shameless' for throwing sponsored $40,000 birthday bash”. The New Paper. May 30, 2014. Accessed on 5 February 2020.
  61. ↑ Hicks, Robin. “Singapore blogger lashes out at tabloid press over ‘shameless’ sponsored party story, likens her birthday to ‘big events like the World Cup’”. Mumbrella Asia. May 30, 2014. Accessed on 6 February 2020.
  62. ↑ Lee, Jocelyn. “Blogger called 'shameless' for throwing sponsored $40,000 birthday bash”. The New Paper. May 30, 2014. Accessed on 5 February 2020.
  63. ↑ Lee, Jocelyn. “Blogger called 'shameless' for throwing sponsored $40,000 birthday bash”. The New Paper. May 30, 2014. Accessed on 5 February 2020.
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