Martua Sitorus

Source of wealth: Palm oil

66 years male Manufacturing 🇮🇩 ID

Net Worth

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Earnings per second

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The scale of their wealth

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Health

The price of life

Let's compare Martua Sitorus's fortune with the healthcare spending of a massive country

Martua Sitorus could fund the entire healthcare system of DR Congo, with a population of over 105,800,000 people, for approximately 1.6 years.

But even if we compare their fortune with that of a rich country

On the other end, Martua Sitorus could cover the healthcare spending of Luxembourg, considered the most heavily funded healthcare system in the world, for 0.7 years.

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Education

Buying the future

Let's also compare their fortune with education spending, first with a poor country

Martua Sitorus could cover the total cost of Nigeria's education system, the most populous country in Africa with over 243,000,000 inhabitants, for 1.0 years.

And yes, we can also compare it with a rich country

But they couldn't just cover the cost of a poor country; Luxembourg is considered the country with the highest per capita investment in education in the world, and Martua Sitorus could pay for it entirely for 1.4 years.

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Research

The monopoly on progress

Coming full circle, we think it's also interesting to add another gigantic country

Martua Sitorus could fully fund the state research budget of Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world with over 260,000,000 inhabitants, for 6.0 years.

And of course, the country that invests the most per capita worldwide

But even if we compare the total wealth of Martua Sitorus with Israel, the country that invests the most per capita in research in the world, they could cover the total cost of the system for 0.1 years.

While billions of people struggle to access basic healthcare, education, and research, a single individual could fund entire national systems for centuries.

Gold

Everyday luxuries

Martua Sitorus's fortune is equivalent to 24 tons of gold. It's hard to process, since we don't usually keep a handful of gold bars in our piggy banks.

A standard gold ring usually weighs between 4 and 7 grams. Let's say this one weighs 5 grams. It's usually 18 karats.

Based on today's gold price (excluding the jeweler's commission, shipping, or anything else), that ring would be worth $546.86.

Martua Sitorus could buy 6,496,238 gold rings. That's a lot of fingers and way too many gifts!!

And if you're struggling to visualize that many rings, it would take 1 trucks to transport them. Although Martua Sitorus will almost certainly have enough money left over to pay for the gas.

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Biography

Martua Sitorus cofounded Wilmar with Kuok Khoon Hong, now also a billionaire, in 1991.

Sitorus stepped off the board of Wilmar, one of the world's largest palm oil traders, in 2018.

He and his brother Ganda cofounded KPN, formerly known as Gama, with interests in palm oil plantations, property development and cement manufacturing.

In partnership with the Ciputra Group, KPN's property arm Gama Land built a township in Medan, North Sumatra in 2024.

The family's cement maker Cemindo Gemilang listed its shares in 2021 raising $77 million. Their hospital company Murni Sadar raised $21 million through an IPO in 2022.