The annual Forbes Rich List reveal who Indonesia’s billionaires are.
Forbes, the American business magazine, is known for their annual rich list. The rankings list the top billionaires from across the world. For this year, Forbes recorded at 13 percent increase in the number of billionaires stating the biggest hike in their 31 year history of the Rich List.
Unsurprisingly Bill Gates, the man behind technology giant Microsoft, tops the charts. Holding this position for the fourth consecutive year, Gates’ total wealth is estimated to be at USD 86 billion. Not far behind Gates is Warren Buffet with USD 75.6 billion.
Despite the highest concentration of billionaires being in America, there are a number of Indonesian’s in the chart. With a net worth wealth of USD 9.6 billion and coming in at the 140th richest person in the world is R. Budi Hartono. He and his brother Michael, the next richest Indonesian, have their father to thank for their wealth. In 1950, Oei Wie Gwan, took on a bankrupt cigarette-maker and turned it round paving the future for his sons. Additionally Budi has a stake in Bank Central Asia. Michael who wealth is not far behind his brother’s at USD 9.4 billion, also owns a stake in the same bank.
Next on the Indonesian rich list is Sri Prakash Lohia at position 288. Despite now residing in London, Lohia fortunes were amassed alongside his father. They produced spun yarn in 1976 with their company Indorama. Lohia went on to be involved in making other industrial products such as medical gloves, polyethylene and polypropylene and medical gloves. His son is now in charge and the company is planning to expand on its existing operations in Africa.
Other big names in the top ten are Jeff Bezos, the founder of online retailer Amazon, Mark Zuckerberg, the brains behind Facebook, and Larry Ellison, the co-founder of Oracle. The list is not to rosy for President Donald Trump who moved down 200 places this year. The slowdown of his Manhattan property portfolio cited as a potential reason for this.
