Conglomerate Chairul Tanjung's Ranking Skyrocketed Four Ranks To The 5th Position On The List Of The Richest Indonesians

Chairul Tanjung conglomerate. (Photo: By courtesy)

JAKARTA - For economic actors, who does not know Chairul Tanjung? The conglomerate that owns CT Corp is a well-respected senior entrepreneur in the country.

Most recently, the owner of CT Corp is known to have succeeded in improving his position as the Forbes' richest person in Indonesia entitled Forbes World's Billionaires List The Richest in 2021 by jumping four places to become the fifth.

In its report, the world's leading business and financial media said that CT's total wealth, Chairul Tanjung's nickname, is worth a total of not less than USD 4.8 billion or approximately IDR 6.9 trillion.

Inevitably, many people have asked what was done by "The Cassava Boy" so that he could accumulate more wealth than other entrepreneurs in a pandemic situation like this.

Based on information collected by VOI editorial team, the CT entrepreneur's spirit began to be honed when he was a student at the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Indonesia in the mid-1980s. At that time, he had a chance to taste selling textbooks, t-shirts, and photocopies on campus.

Chairul also set up a medical equipment store and laboratory in Senen, Central Jakarta, but it went bankrupt.

After college, he founded PT Pariarti Shindutama with three of his colleagues. With an initial capital of IDR 150 million from Exim Bank, they produce children's shoes for export.

Luck sided, the company immediately received an order for 160.000 pairs of shoes from Italy. However, due to different visions about business expansion, Chairul chose to separate and set up his own business.

His expertise in building networks and as an entrepreneur, makes his business grow. Directing his business towards conglomeration, Chairul repositioned himself on three core businesses: finance, property, and multimedia. In the financial sector, he took over Bank Karman which was the forerunner of Bank Mega.

Under the Para Group, CT has a number of companies in the financial sector, including Mega General Insurance, Mega Life Insurance, Para Multi Finance, Mega Bank, Mega Capital Indonesia, Mega Syariah Bank, and Mega Finance.

Meanwhile, in the property and investment sector, the company oversees Para Bandung Propertindo, Para Bali Propertindo, Batam Indah Investindo, and Mega Indah Propertindo. In the broadcasting and multimedia sector, Para Group owns Trans TV, Trans7, Mahagagaya Perdana, Trans Fashion, Trans Lifestyle, and Trans Studio.

Especially in the property business, Para Group owns the Bandung Supermall. Then, in the investment sector, in early 2010, Para Group through its subsidiary, Trans Corp bought most of Carrefour Indonesia's shares, amounting to 40 percent.

On December 1, 2011, Chairul Tanjung inaugurated the change of Para Group to CT Corp. CT Corp consists of three sub-holding companies, namely Mega Corp, Trans Corp, and CT Global Resources which cover financial services, media, retail, lifestyle, entertainment, and natural resources.

Apart from pursuing his profession as an entrepreneur, Chairul Tanjung also had a chance to feel a bureaucratic seat after being appointed by the 6th President of the Republic of Indonesia Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as Coordinating Minister for the Economy in 2014.