Eight years ago Kane Lim stepped cautiously onto a scale at his Los Angeles home and was horrified by what he saw.
“I weighed a hundred kilograms. I knew I had to do something or I was going to die,” says the star of Netflix reality series Bling Empire (2021 to present).
But it was not until three years ago that the 32-year-old Singaporean – who has grappled with weight and self-esteem issues all his life – underwent a metamorphosis, thanks to Buddhism. “That was when I turned vegetarian and all my weight fell off,” he says.
Lim was impacted by this radical transformation in many ways. He said that it taught him compassion to others and for himself.
He is more grounded in person than his Instagram and Bling Empire accounts suggest. “Can you imagine if I was rich and good-looking?” he says with a laugh. “Oh my god, I’d be an a**hole.”
He is reclining at Happy Fish Swim School in Bedok, seemingly unaffected by the stares that he draws. The school has 13 centres in Singapore, Malaysia and was recently purchased by his family.
Lim is happy that he can spend time with his family, even if it’s only for two weeks around Chinese New Year.
“It’s so good to be home and wear as much bling as I want without fearing I will be kidnapped,” he says. “The United States has plenty of outlets for a creative person, but I might move back eventually. Singapore is very dear to my heart. We take safety for granted here.”
After living a privileged existence in Singapore, he insisted on cutting his own path to LA in 2012 – first to study fashion and then to work as a property developer and realtor before “accidentally” finding fame on Bling Empire, a reality series chronicling the lives of a group of affluent Asians and Asian-Americans in the American city.
The show was released in a time when diversity, inclusion and other buzzwords were hot topics. It became a hit, thanks to the shenanigans of the show’s characters, who would wave their ethnicity, identity and Hermes bags around like a flag.
Many Singaporeans watched the series and were fascinated by Lim’s family background, net wealth, and the size of Lim’s shoe collection (whose value is estimated to be in excess of seven figures).
What they do not realise is that some of his shoes – including, most recently, a pair of Swarovski-studded boots by Italian label Santoni – are sponsored.
“My favourite pair of shoes is whichever brand pays me the most,” Lim quips.
He claims that his biggest purchase is not shoes, but a home. “Together with a business partner, I bought a 100,000 sq ft home in Malibu for US$8.5 million (S$11.4 million) as an investment.”
In the first episode of the show, it was revealed that Lim’s family grew wealthy from shipping and real estate, among other business interests.
Apart from confirming that his father is no longer working, the oldest of three sons declined to confirm rumours that they were related to OK Lim (founder of the collapsed oil trading firm Hin Leong), who is now facing fraud accusations.
“I try to keep my family out of the media because they never asked for any of this spotlight,” he says.
Lim doesn’t stop sharing one story, however.
“I went to ACS International and all my schoolmates were chauffeured in Rolls-Royces. My father dropped us off at the bus stop so we could take the bus.
“My childhood was tough because my dad was very strict,” he continues. “He gave us the best education, but when it came to material things, he thought we should work for it. He and my mum would fly first class while we flew economy.”
The Lim family keeps in touch with their sons now that they have flown the coop and makes business decisions via WhatsApp.
According to him, his mother has one rule that all men in the family must follow: not to invest in gambling, nightclubs, or alcohol. Anything else is fair game.
“We fight a lot, over whether or not we’re investing in the right property or calling the right shots,” says Lim. “But in general, we like businesses that create a positive impact. Make money, but make good money, you know?”
He explains why his family invested in Happy Fish, an indoor swim school that is rapidly growing. Happy Fish is a swimming school that teaches children as young as four months. Most schools in the area offer lessons for children five years old and older.
“We are strategic business partners. We hope to reduce incidence of drowning among children,” says Lim.
According to a report by KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, there was an average of about 20 near-drowning cases involving children each year between 2011 and 2015, and 10 deaths within this five-year period.
Lim said that his latest investment was in Green Rebel Indonesia, which is part the plant-based eatery chain Burgreens. “I’ve seen brands like Impossible Foods rake in billions of dollars and I was wondering, where is the Asian representation?”
His family is still trying to adjust to his meteoric rise in fame.
“My father never liked the idea of me sharing my life on social media, but now he understands that it’s a new form of currency,” Lim says, gleefully adding that he gets personal messages from singer Rihanna from time to time. (“She asked me when season two of Bling Empire was coming out.”)
With fame, however, comes a new set of dilemmas – namely, the pressure to look good for the camera.
Lim admits that he “might’ve gone overboard” with certain aesthetic treatments such as Botox and fillers.
“I think I’ve found a balance these days,” he says. “But, yes, my dad was asking why I’m chasing perfection. I think it stems from a place of insecurity and hurt.”
He promises that fans will see more of his “authentic self” in Bling Empire’s next season, slated to be released this year. Filming wrapped several weeks ago.
“I think one of the biggest misconceptions that people have about me is that I don’t work at all,” Lim says. “But I do work in real estate and I’m now part of the Oppenheim group, working alongside Chrishell.”
Chrishell Stause is a cast member and realtor from another of Netflix’s hit series, Selling Sunset. The series follows the lives and careers of several agents at the Oppenheim Group, an elite real estate brokerage in Los Angeles.
Lim also points out that many Asians living in Los Angeles lead lives that are very different from Lim’s.
“A large percentage of the Asian diaspora is underpaid,” he says. “It’s only the top percentile that are successful and, as such, my friend and I founded a club called Society 1 two years ago, with the hopes of elevating the Asian community.”
Society 1 sponsored the Unforgettable gala, a star-studded celebration of Asian talent in entertainment, recently.
Lim believes that it is important to remain humble, despite his fame. “Hollywood can build you up and tear you down in an instant,” he declares.
This article was published in The Straits Times for the first time.
Source: Her World
