William Soeryadjaya
William Soeryadjaya | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 20, 1922 Majalengka Regency, Indonesia |
| Died | April 2, 2010 (aged 87) Jakarta, Indonesia |
| Other names | Tjia Kian Liong |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur |
| Known for | Co-founder of Astra International |
William Soeryadjaya, also recognized by his Chinese name Tjia Kian Liong (; 20 December 1922 – 2 April 2010), was a prominent Chinese Indonesian entrepreneur and the co-founder of Astra International, which stands as Indonesia's largest diversified conglomerate.
Having lost his parents by the age of 12, Soeryadjaya concluded his formal education at 19 but pursued further training at Leder & Schoenindustrie in the Netherlands. In 1957, together with his younger sibling Tjia Kian Tie, he launched Astra initially as a trading enterprise. Over time, the company transformed into the nation's leading automobile retailer and its most valuable publicly traded corporation. Astra's extensive business interests encompass finance, plantations, manufacturing of auto components, vehicle sales, heavy equipment, and mining services. The enterprise is responsible for distributing well-known brands such as Honda motorcycles and vehicles from BMW, Daihatsu, Peugeot, Citroën, and Toyota across Indonesia. By March 2010, Astra had overtaken Telkom Indonesia to claim the position of the country’s highest-valued company.
In 1992, Soeryadjaya divested the majority of his family’s shares in Astra to salvage Summa Bank, which was owned by his eldest son, Edward Soeryadjaya, following a credit crisis that threatened its stability. Without relying on government assistance, he personally assured all depositors their principal along with accrued interest, thereby relinquishing a significant portion of his stake in Astra.
As of 2009, the Soeryadjaya family was ranked by Forbes as the 18th wealthiest in Indonesia. William Soeryadjaya died in Jakarta on 2 April 2010 at the age of 87 and was laid to rest at San Diego Hills.
Legacy
Institutions such as Universitas Prasetiya Mulya's BSD Campus and Universitas Kristen Indonesia have dedicated buildings named in honor of William Soeryadjaya, signifying his enduring impact on Indonesian commerce and education.