Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —
Who doesn’t know Boy Thohir? Entrepreneurs who enter the ranks richest man 17th in Indonesia version Forbes. With an estimated wealth of US$2.6 billion or the equivalent of Rp37.18 trillion, he doesn’t need to carry the name of his younger brother, Erick Thohir, who currently serves as Minister of State-Owned Enterprises under President Jokowi’s administration, right?
quote Forbes, Tuesday (15/2), the owner of the real name Garibaldi Thohir made a fortune from his shareholding in Adaro Energy, one of the top coal exporters in the world. He also serves as the President Director of the ADRO-coded stock exchange issuer.
So, how did Boy Thohir do when he started his career?
Boy was born in Bandar Lampung, May 1, 1965 ago. He is the son of Teddy Thohir, one of the co-owners of Astra International who is also known as an entrepreneur in various businesses.
Boy had followed his father by joining Astra. However, his career was not long. The father is very supportive if Boy wants to become an entrepreneur.
He also tried his luck by establishing a property company. It doesn’t take hard work, Boy’s business idea gets the blessing of his father. In fact, so happy, his father brought Boy together with high-ranking Astra International officials at the time, TP Rachmat and Edwin Soeryadjaya.
The father also offers capital to Boy. Boy’s job is only to present his business ideas and present them to high-ranking Astra International officials about the business opportunities that Astra International can work on in the area now known as the Kasablanka area.
Tit for tat. Boy’s proposal was accepted. He was asked to acquire a land area of 20 hectares (ha). This is where Boy’s first test of ‘business’ comes in, at that time he only managed to free up 3 ha of land due to economic constraints.
“At that time I was only a land broker. Not a developer. I only cleared land for Astra. So, basic Initially I became a businessman freeing land. I am RCTI, a group of Indonesian land brokers. But, it was a valuable experience,” he said Second in an interview some time ago.
Boy’s failure to become a property entrepreneur apparently led him to another success door. He also began to set foot in the coal mining industry. In 1992, he joined PT Allied Indo Coal in Sawah Lunto, West Sumatra.
In this company, Boy owns a 20 percent stake. However, because the coal commodity has not risen in prestige as it is today, the company cannot be said to be growing. Worse, Boy continued his business without the help of his Australian partner who suddenly left Indonesia due to rampant riots.
But life must go on. Boy is also eyeing other businesses, namely acquiring PT Wahana Ottomitra Multiartha aka WOM Finance in 1997. The company is engaged in financing Honda brand motorcycles.
“The capital provided by WOM Finance is only IDR 5 billion. Plus from the company Ometraco IDR 5 billion and the rest is debt,” he explained.
Boom! WOM Finance is a success. Its success even rivals that of coal companies. Without further ado, Boy released 70 percent of WOM Finance’s shares at a tempting price of US$150 million to BII. Imagine, Boy’s Rp5 billion capital cost to US$150 million.
From there lahhe has the capital to buy a coal mine in South Kalimantan and joins with other successful entrepreneurs to form a consortium to buy Adaro Energy shares from New Hope, an Australian company.
Adaro has been transformed into a major mining company as well as the 5th largest coal producer in the world.
In fact, at the end of 2011, Forbes ranked Adaro as one of the 50 best companies in Asia.
Then, in 2013, Boy decided to buy shares in Adaro, the company he leads. This action managed to make his fortune swell to US $ 955 million, according to Forbes.
At that time, he was lined up as the 37th richest person in 2014 and his position continues to climb to become the 17th richest in 2021.
Owning Land in Kalimantan
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