Singapore — Singaporean socialite Kim Lim founded Ilumia Therapeutics and Papilla Haircare, aesthetic clinics that focus on treatments for skin, body and hair about two years ago.
In an interview, she was asked how business has been, and she responded, “Not bad lah, not bad lah, hahaha. I’m happy to see the results.”
It is easy to reduce her achievements to her father’s wealth, and while Lim acknowledges that he did “give [her] something to start” with, it was also a “you finish it, that’s it, bye bye” situation.
In case you did not know, her father is Peter Lim, 68, a Singaporean business magnate. He is a friend of footballer Cristiano Ronaldo and a private investor with a net worth of more than SGD2.5 billion as of 2021.
This means that Lim is not getting anything beyond a capital sum from her father if that was not clear enough. It would have been considered an enormous privilege for most of us, and the socialite seems to be quite aware of that as well.
It could be that is why Lim is fairly adamant about building her own legacy, aside from being known as a “billionaire heiress”, which is admittedly quite an integral part of Lim’s current identity and a title that is sometimes splashed across media releases.
Lim believes that one way of doing so, other than her business empire, is through philanthropy. She celebrated her 30th birthday a few months ago and in conjunction with that, she donated care packages to over 1,100 healthcare personnel at Fullerton Health with help from other sponsors.
At the start of the pandemic, Lim and her company have also contributed regular food deliveries amounting up to SGD30,000 to frontline workers. Lim also donated gers, or homes, to the underprivileged in Mongolia. In an interview with Mothership.sg, it was learned that the efforts were carried out through money that Lim has earned herself.
“I do what I can lah, to my limit. I mean I’m still young, I’m still trying to earn and work hard for my own, ya. I don’t really take my dad’s money, I also paiseh mah, old already, hahahaha.”
The journalist asked Lim if she had ever felt compelled to engage in charitable acts due to her socioeconomic status.
“No leh, I mean not obligated, but 是应该的 (it should be). My dad brought me up like that, […] he always taught me must give back,” she said.
Lim confessed that she had not always been this sensible.
In her younger days, the billionaire heiress (there’s the term again) used to go on extravagant shopping trips where she would spend without appreciating the value of money.
It was reported that if the socialite was interested in a bag, she would get one of it in every colour. And these are luxury products we are talking about.
There are times the items remain in their boxes, unused.
“Last time I don’t know mah, young that time,” she said in a mildly sheepish tone. “But then now, no. I just buy what I like only. I still like a lot of things lah, but I just really choose and buy what I like.”
She also shared that she often goes partying and drinking. People who know about Lim will know that the socialite once suffered from bulimia and, even up till now, battles with mental issues.
She looks back at that period of her life with candour: “It was quite bad lah, like every time I eat I vomit and all, that kind of thing, I just want[ed] to be skinny […].”
She added:
“Bulimia is something I think someone really has to fight with it themselves, and find it within themselves to cure himself. I mean, same with depression. I also have depression. And even now sometimes when I got some trigger, I will still get depressed.”
While Lim seems to be under a lot of pressure to maintain a slim figure, she has been seeing a psychiatrist to improve her mental health.
Agreeing that she is “much better” these days, Lim credits the transformation to her son, four-year-old Kyden:
“I was 83 kg when I gave birth. I’m 50 kg now. […] Came back, and then I started thinking, I just thought I must be better inside and outside lah, you know, healthy also to take care of him, and also outside responsible lah. So I just thought, want to do, do the healthy way lor.”
Her foray into entrepreneurship was another factor that contributed to her growth as she realised that dozens of livelihoods are now dependent on her. It was not a change that Lim had anticipated, but it is one that has served her well.
Too “well”, one might even argue.
Lim has recently undergone a nerve block surgery to alleviate stress-induced pain, after prioritising her work over health.
On Sept 18, both Papilla Haircare and Illumia Therapeutics have expanded to the heartlands, with a presence in Nex, Serangoon.
The heiress is involved in most, if not all aspects of the business—”running the show” was the term she used.
These days, even her father is asking her to slow down. But this version of Lim is not having it.
“I think maybe it’s time for me to change, I’m already 30 leh. So I have to work hard lor, and do it, you know make a statement and legacy for myself. That’s what I hope to do lah, yah.” /TISG