Prajogo Pangestu
Energy tycoon Prajogo Pangestu, 81, remains the richest man in Indonesia with a net worth of $39.5 billion, up almost double from March when Forbes compiled its annual list of the world’s top billionaires this year.
Prajogo Pangestu, chairman of Barito Renewables Energy. Photo courtesy of the company |
The company’s share has surged 265% this year, outperforming the Jakarta Composite Index’s growth of 21%, amid surging optimism around the group’s petrochemical and energy expansion.
Pangestu built the Barito Pacific Group from a small timber operation into one of Southeast Asia’s leading petrochemical and energy conglomerates.
His wealth derives mainly from controlling stakes in listed units spanning petrochemicals, geothermal and renewable energy, coal and other resources.
He founded timber-focused Barito Pacific in 1979. From the 2000s he diversified Barito into capital-intensive industries such as petrochemical producer, synthetic rubber and infrastructure.
Today his core assets include a controlling stake of about 71% in Barito Pacific and majority control of Petrindo Jaya Kreasi in coal and resources.
Low Tuck Kwong
Low Tuck Kwong, 77, is the second richest Indonesian with a net worth of $22.3 billion, down 18% for the year.
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Indonesian billionaire Low Tuck Kwong. Photo courtesy of SEAX Global |
Shares of his coal mining company Bayan Resources have plunged 22% this year as earnings growth stalled while coal prices and market sentiment toward the sector have weakened. Last year its net profit dipped 25%.
Kwong worked in his father’s construction business in Singapore before moving to Indonesia in 1972 in search of better opportunities, according to Bloomberg.
He first set up construction contractor Jaya Sumpiles Indonesia in 1973, then moved into coal by acquiring his first mining concession in Kalimantan in the 1990s.
To consolidate these interests, he established Bayan Resources Tbk in 2004, building an integrated model covering mining, processing and logistics that later rode the global coal boom.
Bayan Resources since then has grown into a major exporter, producing about 56.9 million tons of coal in 2024 and generating revenue of roughly $3.3 billion.
Robert Budi Hartono
In the third place, Robert Budi Hartono, 85, saw his net worth falling 4% this year to $21.4 billion, following a 18% decline in the share of Bank Central Asia, which he controls.
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Robert Budi Hartono in March 2013. Photo by tokoindonesia via Wikipedia |
Together with his brother Michael (who is the 4th richest man in Indonesia), he sits atop one of the country’s most diversified business empires spanning tobacco, banking, electronics, digital businesses and prime real estate.
Budi and Michael inherited the cigarette maker Djarum after his father’s death, at a time when the factory had just suffered a major fire and was in distress.
The brothers rebuilt and modernized the business, launching successful brands and turning Djarum into one of the world’s largest clove cigarette producers.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the family diversified into electronics, and later took control of lender Bank Central Asia, which now accounts for the majority of their fortune.
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