About R. Budi Hartono
R. Budi Hartono is well known for being the President Director of PT Djarum, one of the three biggest makers of clove cigarettes in Indonesia. He is also one of the largest stakeholders in Bank Central Asia which thus makes him the richest man in Indonesia according to Forbes Indonesia magazine in 2018.
Early Life
R. Budi Hartono was born on 28th April, 1940 in Semarang, Indonesia to Oei Wie Gwan and Goei Tjoe Nio. He attended Diponegoro University to complete his education and later joined small family business started by his father in the kretek field named Djarum Gramophon in 1951. The name was later changed to Djarum which soon turned out to be a successful name in market.
Career
R. Budi Hartono started his career by inheriting his father’s cigarette company, PT Djarum with his brother Michael Hartono in 1963. The company at that time was experiencing downfall and disaster like situation as the factory was burned and a lot of money had been poured to rebuild it, thus leaving it in financial difficulties. But both brothers soon
managed to take the company into more prestigious position thus becoming one of the biggest cigarette companies in Indonesia. In 1972, they exported cigarette abroad and three years later they marketed Djarum Filter, the first brand produced using machine in 1981.
Now they employ around 20,000 employees and take up 20% of all the amounts of cigarette produced in Indonesia every year. Not only has this he also had investments in bank, electronic appliances and even property. He has property companies under the name Djarum Group, such as Nagaraja Lestari and Fajar Surya Perkasa which are working on various building projects in Indonesia. Both brothers have their shares in Bank Central Asia and have invested in creating an electronic product brand Polytron. They have done business diversification even in agriculture department by having a palm plantation region of 65,000 hectares located interior the province of West Kalimantan in 2008.
Personal Life
He is in marital relationship with Giok Hartono and is father of three children; Victor, Martin and Armand Hartono.
Net Worth
It is estimated to be around US$12.6 billion as on January 2018.
