Michael Hartono is a Chinese Indonesian billionaire heir and businessman. Michael and his brother Robert Budi are Kretek’s owners (of clove cigarette), which they inherited from their father Oei Wie Gwan upon his death in 1963. As of 2022, Michael Hartono’s net worth is roughly USD 20 billion.
Early Life
Michael Bambang Hartono was born on the 2nd of October 1939, in Kudus, in Central Java. His father, Oei Wie Gwan, had purchased a small Kretek cigarette factory called Djarum Grammophon in 1951 and renamed it just Djarum. In 1963, however, the factory burned down, and shortly thereafter, Oie Wie died, leaving Michael and his younger brother Robert Budi Hartono to inherit the factory.
Career
The cigarette enterprise grew under the two brothers, making its first export in 1972 and introducing new products. Today, the cigarette brand is one of Indonesia’s biggest market shares, with a 19 percent marketplace share in 2012.
As the cigarette commercial enterprise continued to grow, the organization started increasing to other fields, founding an electronics brand Polytron in 1975. The organization also extended into businesses like palm oil, papermaking, and communication towers.
Starting their access into the banking business through Haga Bank and Hagakita Bank, the brothers under the Mauritius-registered corporation FarIndo Investments in a consortium with Farallon Capital took over 51.15% of Bank Central Asia in 2002, defeating other bidders despite creating a lower offer.
Aside from the aforementioned businesses, the Djarum group also controls several purchasing malls and buildings in Jakarta, which include Grand Indonesia, Hotel Indonesia, and BCA Tower. His organization is also active in internet ventures, controlling e-commerce website Blibli.com and one of Indonesia’s biggest online communities, Kaskus.
Life Lesson From Hartono Family: Now that you realize all about Michael Hartono’s net worth and how he achieved success; let’s take a look at some of the lessons we can learn from his successful family:
Have Courage: Courage is about learning how to function despite the fear, to put apart your instincts to run or give in completely to the anger born from fear. Courage is about the use of your brain and heart while every cell of your body is screaming at your to fight or flee.