Prajogo Pangestu
Prajogo Pangestu | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 13, 1944 Bengkayang, West Kalimantan, Indonesia |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, investor, philanthropist |
| Known for | Founder of Barito Pacific Group |
Prajogo Pangestu, originally named Phang Djoen Phen (; born 13 May 1944), is a prominent Indonesian billionaire, entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist. He is the founder of the Barito Pacific Group, a diversified Indonesian conglomerate engaged in sectors such as forestry, plantations, oil and gas, coal mining, gold extraction, and geothermal energy. With an estimated net worth of USD $43.4 billion, he ranks as the richest person in Southeast Asia.
Early life
Pangestu was born in Bengkayang, West Kalimantan, into a Hakka family originating from Guangdong, China. He attended Chinese-language schools before moving to Jakarta in 1965. In 1970, he began working at Djajanti Group, a timber company owned by Burhan Uray, and by 1976 he had advanced to become the general manager of PT Nusantara. He departed from the company in 1977 to initiate his own entrepreneurial ventures.
Business career
By 1993, Pangestu’s PT Barito Pacific Timber Tbk had become the largest publicly traded company on the Jakarta Stock Exchange. The company underwent a rebranding in 2007 to better represent its expanded business interests.
Barito Pacific oversees Indonesia’s leading petrochemical manufacturer, PT Chandra Asri Pacific Tbk, and holds control over Barito Renewables, which owns Star Energy Geothermal—both significant components of the group’s portfolio. In March 2022, Green Era, a Singapore-based firm under Pangestu's control, purchased the remaining 33.33% stake in Star Energy from Thailand’s BCPG for $440 million, thereby obtaining full ownership.