James Riady Profile: Lippo Group Boss Education And Career Travel

James Riady (ANTARA)

YOGYAKARTA - James Riady is one of the richest people in Indonesia who is the owner of the Lippo Group company. Lippo Group is engaged in various sectors, ranging from property, banking, retail, restaurants, to health. His leadership makes James one of the important figures in the world of Indonesian corporations.

As the successor to Mochtar Riady, founder of the Lippo Group, James managed to bring the family company to grow rapidly. However, his career journey has not always been smooth. James had stumbled upon controversy in the United States over political campaign funds, but that did not prevent him from continuing to expand his business empire.

James Tjahaja Riady was born in Jakarta on January 7, 1957. He is the son of businessmen of Chinese-Indonesian descent, Mochtar Riady and Suyawati Lidya. Since childhood, James has been formed in a disciplined and competitive business environment.

His father sent James to Macau to pursue basic education so he could live independently from an early age. After four years there, he continued his education in Australia and finished studying at the University of Melbourne.

After graduating, James was sent to the United States to learn directly in the business world, particularly banking. At the age of 18, he worked at the Irving Trust Banking Company and this is where his career journey in the global financial world began.

A year working at Irving Trust, James Riady moved to Arkansas and founded Worthen Bank with an initial capital of around USD 20 million. This is where he gets acquainted with Jack Stephens, an influential banker and his father's best friend.

Through Stephens Inc., James had the opportunity to get acquainted with the Governor of Arkansas, Bill Clinton. When Clinton ran for President of the United States in 1992, James provided significant financial support, with total donations reaching more than 475,000 US dollars since 1991. After Clinton was elected, the relationship between the two grew closer and provided wider business access.

However, the relationship also dragged James into controversy. In 2001, he was charged by a Los Angeles court for violating the law regarding illegal funding donations for a political campaign in America. He pleaded guilty and paid a fine of 8.6 million US dollars.

However, James continued his work in the business world and managed to maintain Lippo Group's reputation as one of the leading companies in Asia. His courage in dealing with the crisis is proof of the mentality of a strong entrepreneur.

James Riady is known to be more aggressive than his father in developing the Lippo Group business. He expanded the company's wings to various sectors, ranging from property, media, telecommunications, finance, retail, to hospitals and education.

In addition to focusing on business, James also developed the education sector by establishing Pelita Harapan School and Pelita Harapan University. Meanwhile, in the health sector, he built Siloam Hospitals, which is now one of the largest private hospital networks in Indonesia.

James is also active in the field of sports, especially badminton. He was once the head of funding at the Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI) and made Lippo the main sponsor of badminton matches in Hong Kong.