Robert Budi Hartono (traditional Chinese: 黃惠忠; simplified Chinese: 黄惠忠; pinyin: Huáng Huìzhōng; Hokkien: Oei Hwie Tjong;[1] born in 1940) is a Chinese Indonesian tobacco billionaire with a 2015 net worth of US$9.1 billion. He owns and runs the privately held Djarum, the world’s third largest maker of clove cigarettes. Djarum has reportedly recently grabbed shares from the number two cigarette firm, Sampoerna. Budi Hartono also has a stake with his brother, Michael Bambang Hartono in one of Indonesia’s biggest banks, Bank Central Asia, formerly controlled by billionaire Liem Sioe Liong. In 2009, Budi Hartono’s net worth reportedly reached US$4.7 billion and he was nominated as the richest Indonesian while Liem Sioe Liong was in 3rd place.
Early life
Hartono was born in 1940 at Semarang, Central Java. He is an alumnus of Diponegoro University, Semarang.
Career
Starting from Mr. Oei Wie Gwan bought a small business in the field named Djarum clove gramophon. 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 gramophon 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 November 2012 listing, Budi Hartono and his brother Michael Hartono were reported by Forbes magazine as the richest men in Indonesia in 2012 with a combined wealth of $US 15 billion. Budi Hartono was listed by Forbes as being worth $US 6.5 billion.
Hartono and his brother Budi are co-owners of Djarum Group, the producer of one out of every five cigarettes manufactured in Indonesia. The brothers are also the biggest shareholders in Bank Central Asia, Indonesia’s largest bank. Bank Central Asia had revenue of 56.8 trillion Indonesian rupiah ($4.2 billion) in 2017.
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