Born in Yanjingcun, a Chinese village in Taishan county, Guangdong province, Wong Ah Fook hired himself out as a farmer's boy when his family fell on hard times.

In 1854, then age 17, Wong emigrated to Singapore as the result of civil unrest in his hometown that eventually erupted into the Punti–Hakka Clan Wars (1855–1867).

It was Hoo who introduced Wong to his wide circle of friends, including Maharaja Abu Bakar who subsequently became the Sultan of Johor.

Beginning with the construction of the Istana Besar in 1865 that made him become the main government contractor, Wong Ah Fook was drawn into the politics of Johor's gambier and pepper economy at about this time when he was asked by the Johor government to penetrate the Kongkek (the Gambier and Pepper Society of Singapore) which was then monopolizing the industry.

In 1892, Wong was granted a 99-year lease for 10 lots of land by the Sultan on the east bank of Sungai Segget as a reward for his services.

On 12 September 1918, Wong Ah Fook died at the age of 82 in his home at 80 Kampong Java Road, in the present day district of Kallang, Singapore.