Agustina Wayansari, Jakarta – Five Indonesian businessmen, including pulp and paper tycoon Sukanto Tanoto, are among the 1,125 wealthiest people in the world, according to Forbes magazine.
The 58-year-old Sukanto Tanoto, owner of the Raja Garuda Mas (RGM) group, was ranked 284th on the list with estimated assets of some US$3.8 billion, the magazine reported in its Wednesday issue.
RGM and its subsidiaries operate in a range of industries, including pulp and paper, palm oil plantations and construction. RGM subsidiary Asian Agri is currently being probed by the tax office for alleged tax evasion.
Also on the Forbes list are the owners of tobacco company PT Djarum, Michael Hartono and Budi Hartono. Their fortunes were estimated at $2 billion each.
Other Indonesians to make the list were palm oil producer Wilmar International Holding owner Martua Sitorus at 652nd with $1.9 billion, and Peter Sondakh, the owner of Rajawali Group, with $1.2 billion at 962nd.
Forbes named Berkshire Hathaway Inc. chairman Warren Buffet as the wealthiest person in the world, toppling Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates, who had topped the list for the past 13 years.
Buffet reportedly owned total assets of some $62 billion as of February, mostly from his share of Berkshire Holding, which has a market value of $215 billion. According to Bloomberg, Buffet's wealth increased about $10 billion from last year.
With total assets of $58 billion, Gates fell to third on the Forbes list, after Mexican telecommunications mogul Carlos Slim, who has an estimated net worth of $60 billion.
This year's list includes 1,125 people with a total net worth of $4.4 trillion. There are 211 Asians on this year's list, from 160 the previous year. India had 53 people make the list, including four in the top 10, China had 42, Hong Kong 26, Japan 27 and Indonesia had five.
Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal ranked fourth with a total net worth of $45 billion, followed by petrochemical entrepreneur Mukesh Ambani with $43 billion and his estranged brother, Anil Ambani, with some $42 billion.
Another Indian businessman, K.P Sigh, who is in the property business, was eighth with an estimated wealth of around $30 billion.
Forbes also saw more younger billionaires this year, with 50 members below the age of 40, 68 percent of them self-made.
Social networking site Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, 23, is considered the youngest self-made billionaire ever with a total fortune of $1.5 billion, putting him 785th on the list.