In A Pandemic Year, More Than Half Saw Fortunes Decline

This story is part of Forbes’ coverage of Indonesia’s Richest 2020. See the full list here.

^As Indonesia’s Covid-19 cases crossed the half-million mark—the biggest outbreak among Southeast Asian countries—the country slipped into its first recession since the 1997 Asian financial crisis. The economy contracted 5.3% and 3.5% (year-on-year) in the second and third quarters, respectively. The benchmark stock index fell more than 10% in the past 12 months. Consequently, over half of the nation’s 50 richest saw their fortunes decline from a year ago. Despite these downdrafts, the collective wealth of Indonesia’s super wealthy was down only 1.2% from last year’s list to $133 billion.

R. Budi and Michael Hartono, who were among the minority that saw an uptick in their fortunes, are now worth $38.8 billion. They remain at No. 1, a spot they have held for a dozen years. The Widjaja family of the Sinar Mas conglomerate added $2.3 billion, the most in dollar terms, to retain their status as the country’s second richest. A weak petrochemicals market impacted Prajogo Pangestu’s wealth, which declined 21% to $6 billion, though he remains at No. 3 for the second year.

The pandemic, a challenge for many, provided a boost to a few. Media tycoon Eddy Kusnadi Sariaatmadja saw his wealth, which he shares with his family, jump nearly 80% to $1.4 billion—the biggest gain in percentage terms this year. Shares of his company, Elang Mahkota Teknologi (Emtek), soared as those housebound used more of its e-commerce and streaming services.

Emtek’s rising shares propelled cofounder Susanto Suwarto into the ranks for the first time at No. 50 with $475 million. The Jakarta-born electronics and telecom engineer is one of three newcomers to the list. Siblings Wijono and Hermanto Tanoko, who control privately held paint company Avia Avian, make their debut with $700 million. The third new face is that of veteran banker Jerry Ng. He acquired a stake last year in Bank Jago, then called Bank Artos, which he plans to transform into a digital bank.

Another pandemic beneficiary was Irwan Hidayat, whose family’s Sido Muncul is Indonesia’s largest maker of herbal medicines. Shares of the company rose on higher sales of its products, such as popular cold remedy Tolak Angin, boosting his family’s wealth 41% to $1.55 billion.

Four from 2019 didn’t make it to this year’s list. Notable among them are siblings Kusnan and Rusdi Kirana, whose airline Lion Air suffered as air travel nosedived.

Reporting by Megha Bahree, Shintya Felicitas, Pudji Lestari, Marella Putri, Anuradha Raghunathan, Elisa Valenta and Ardian Wibisono.

Full Coverage of Indonesia’s Richest 2020:

Methodology

This list was compiled using shareholding and financial information obtained from the families and individuals, stock exchanges, annual reports and analysts. The ranking lists both individual and family fortunes, including those shared among relatives. Private companies were valued based on similar companies that are publicly traded. Public fortunes were calculated based on stock prices and exchange rates as of November 16, 2020, and adjustments may have been made for some stocks that are thinly traded or have a low public float.