Robert Budi Hartono (; born on 28 April 1941) is a

Chinese Indonesian Chinese Indonesians ( id, Orang Tionghoa Indonesia) and colloquially Chindo or just Tionghoa are Indonesians whose ancestors arrived from China at some stage in the last eight centuries. Chinese people and their Indonesian descendants have ...

tobacco billionaire with a 2018 net worth of US$12.6 billion. He owns and runs the privately held

Djarum PT Djarum (, literally "needle") is an Indonesian ''kretek'' (clove cigarette) brand/manufacturer founded on 21 April 1951 by Oei Wie Gwan in Kudus, Central Java. It produces dozens of domestic and international brands. Djarum Black, Super an ...

, the world's third largest maker of clove

cigarettes A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhaled via the oppo ...

. Djarum has reportedly recently grabbed shares from the number two cigarette firm,

Sampoerna PT Hanjaya Mandala Sampoerna Tbk, commonly known as Sampoerna (), is an Indonesian tobacco company owned by Philip Morris International. Sampoerna is the largest tobacco company in Indonesia. It produces clove cigarettes, otherwise locally known ...

. Budi Hartono also has a stake with his brother,

Michael Bambang Hartono Michael Bambang Hartono (born 2 October 1939), also known as Oei Hwie Siong (), is a Chinese Indonesian billionaire heir and businessman. Michael and his brother Robert Budi are the owners of kretek (clove cigarette) manufacturer Djarum, whi ...

in one of Indonesia's biggest banks,

Bank Central Asia PT Bank Central Asia Tbk, commonly known as Bank Central Asia (BCA) is an Indonesian bank founded on 21 February 1957. It is considered as the largest privately owned bank in Indonesia. The Asian financial crisis in 1997 had a tremendous impact ...

, formerly controlled by billionaire

Liem Sioe Liong Sudono Salim (16 July 1916 – 10 June 2012), also known as Liem Sioe Liong, was a Chinese-born Indonesian banker and businessman. He was the richest individual in Indonesia. He was the founder and chairman of the conglomerate Salim Group be ...

. In 2020, according to American business magazine,

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

, Budi Hartono's net worth reportedly reached US$22.3 billion and he was noted as the richest Indonesian and 71^st richest person in the world.

Career

Starting from Mr. Oei Wie Gwan bought a small business in the field named Djarum clove gramophone. In 1951 it changed its name to Djarum. Oei began marketing cigarettes under the brand "Djarum" which turned out to be successful in the market. After a fire nearly gutted the company in 1963 (Oei died shortly afterward), Djarum back up and modernize their equipment in the factory. In 1972 Djarum began to export their product abroad. Three years later the brand Djarum Djarum Filter was introduced, the first brand to be produced by machines, followed by the brand Djarum Super, introduced in 1981. Together with his brother, Michael Hartono, at the age of 22 Robert inherited one of the leading cigarette company today, Djarum. Djarum was previously a small business called Djarum gramophone which was later purchased by his father, Oei Wie Gwan, in 1951 and changed its name to Djarum. Robert and his brother inherited Djarum after his father died. At that time, Djarum's factory burned down and suffered an unstable condition. But in the hands of the two Hartono brothers, Djarum could grow into giants. In a September 2019 billionaires' personal information, Budi Hartono and his brother Michael Hartono were reported by ''

'' magazine as the richest men in Indonesia in 2019 with a combined wealth of $US 35 billion. Budi Hartono was listed by ''Forbes'' as being worth $US 18.6 billion, while in 2012 was $US 6.5 billion.Bagus BT Saragih,
Bakrie out of rich men's club'
''The Jakarta Post'', 30 November 2012.

Personal life

Early life

Robert Budi Hartono was born in 1940 at the city of

Semarang Semarang ( jv, ꦏꦸꦛꦯꦼꦩꦫꦁ , Pegon: سماراڠ) is the capital and largest city of Central Java province in Indonesia. It was a major port during the Dutch colonial era, and is still an important regional center and port today. ...

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

, He was the 2nd children of Oei Wie Gwan and Goei Tjo Nio. His brother,

was born in 1939.

Present life

He is married with three children and lives in Kudus,

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

References

External links

Forbes 2004UNOITC.org HomeBank for International Settlements
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hartono, Robert Budi Indonesian people of Chinese descent Indonesian businesspeople Living people Indonesian billionaires Diponegoro University alumni Businesspeople in the tobacco industry 1941 births R Budi