Digital gaming and e-commerce firm Sea Ltd has reported its second consecutive year of profitability, with a net profit of $237.6 million in the fourth quarter and a total of $447.8 million for 2024. The company’s shares surged 7.1% to $132.31 in New York trading, boosting billionaire chairman Forrest Li’s net worth by $575 million.
Sea attributes its success to its e-commerce platform Shopee, which is expected to continue driving growth with a projected 20% increase in gross merchandise value this year. The company also expects Garena’s user base and offerings to grow, leading to double-digit growth in 2025.
Li co-founded Sea with Gang Ye and David Chen in 2009, along with launching the digital games publisher Garena. Since then, Shopee has become a regional e-commerce leader, competing against rivals like TikTok and Alibaba. The partners, who are naturalized Singapore citizens, have seen their fortunes increase significantly: Li’s net worth jumped to $8.4 billion, while Ye’s grew to $4.9 billion and Chen’s increased to $1.5 billion.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanburgos/2025/03/05/sea-billionaires-fortunes-jump-981-million-as-shopee-owner-sustains-profits