Sukanto Tanoto

Source of wealth: Diversified

76 years male Diversified 🇮🇩 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 Sukanto Tanoto's fortune with the healthcare spending of a massive country

Sukanto Tanoto could fund the entire healthcare system of DR Congo, with a population of over 105,800,000 people, for approximately 1.9 years.

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

On the other end, Sukanto Tanoto could cover the healthcare spending of Luxembourg, considered the most heavily funded healthcare system in the world, for 0.8 years.

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Education

Buying the future

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

Sukanto Tanoto could cover the total cost of Nigeria's education system, the most populous country in Africa with over 243,000,000 inhabitants, for 1.3 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 Sukanto Tanoto could pay for it entirely for 1.7 years.

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Research

The monopoly on progress

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

Sukanto Tanoto could fully fund the state research budget of Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world with over 260,000,000 inhabitants, for 7.2 years.

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

But even if we compare the total wealth of Sukanto Tanoto 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 0.2 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

Sukanto Tanoto's fortune is equivalent to 29 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.

Sukanto Tanoto could buy 7,786,000 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 Sukanto Tanoto will almost certainly have enough money left over to pay for the gas.

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Biography

Sukanto Tanoto owns Singapore-headquartered Royal Golden Eagle (RGE), a group with businesses in pulp and paper, viscose fiber, palm oil and energy operations in Indonesia, China, Brazil, Canada, Spain and Malaysia.

His Brazil-based Bracell is one of the world's largest makers of specialty cellulose, used in everything from baby wipes to ice cream. Another group company APRIL produces pulp, paper and paperboard.

Roots of the business date back to 1967 when Tanoto opened up a humble spare parts supply shop known as Toko Motor.

Tanoto ventured into tissue business in 2023, acquiring Brazil's OL Papeis. He took Hong Kong-listed tissue paper maker Vinda private in a $3.3 billion deal in 2024.