Jakarta – Five Indonesians made the list of 2,208 billionaires from 72 countries and territories worldwide released by Forbes on Tuesday.
The five Indonesians are R. Budi Hartono, Michael Hartono, Sri Prakash Lohia, Tahir and Chairul Tanjung.
Americans lead the way with a record 585 billionaires, followed by China with 373, according to www.forbes.com. Billionaire Jeff Bezos secured the list's top spot for the first time. The elite group is worth a combined US$9.1 trillion, up 18 percent since last year.
R. Budi Hartono is not new to the list. He is ranked in 69th position with a fortune of $17.4 billion, a sharp increase in wealth from his $9 billion recorded last year. Budi was the owner of Djarum cigarette firm and a shareholder in various businesses, properties, technologies and banks.
Michael Hartono, Budi's brother, is listed in 75th position with his fortune rising to $16.7 million from $8.9 billion last year.
Sri Prakash Lohia, a polyester businessman, is listed in 228th position with a total fortune of $7 billion, up from $5.4 billion last year.
Tahir is listed in 652nd position with a fortune of $3.5 billion, up from $2.8 billion last year. He is the founder of Mayapada Group, a company with interests in banking, a hospital chain and most prominently, real estate. Tahir owns the recently completed Strait Trading Building in Singapore.
An active philanthropist, Tahir, the son in law of Lippo Group founder Mochtar Riady, has donated millions to address the worldwide refugee crisis and to promote education in Indonesia.
Meanwhile, Chairul Tanjung, the founder of CT Corp, is also listed in 652nd position with a fortune of $3.5 billion, down from $4.6 billion last year. His business interests include television, retail, hotels and banks. In July 2017, Forbes reported that Chairul had sold 49 percent of CT Group. (bbn)