Two Southeast Asian families among world’s richest in 2024: report

The World’s Richest Families 2024 by Bloomberg name the Waltons, which are behind U.S. retail giant Walmart, as the richest unit with a wealth of $432 billion.

Most other families are in the U.S., Saudi Arabia, Germany and India. Below are some insight into the two only Southeast Asian representatives.

The Hartono family

Michael Hartono, co-owner of Djarum Group. Photo by Reuters

The family of Hartono, which is behind Indonesia’s conglomerate Djarum Group, is worth $47 billion and ranks 17th on the list.

The father, Oei Wie Gwan, acquired a struggling cigarette company in 1951 and renamed it Djarum.

The business expanded to become one of Indonesia's leading cigarette manufacturers.

Following Oei's death in 1963, his sons, Michael and Budi, branched out by investing in Bank Central Asia, which has since become the primary source of the family's wealth.

The family also developed Grand Indonesia, one of the most popular shopping malls in the country.

Budi now has a net worth of $23 billion, and Michael $22 billion. They are among the 100 richest people in the world.

The Chearavanont family

Dhanin Chearavanont, senior chairman of Charoen Pokphand Group. Photo courtesy of the company

The four-generation Chearavanont family, with a net worth of $44.1 billion, ranks 19th in the list. They develop one of Thailand’s biggest conglomerates, Charoen Pokphand Group (CP Group).

Chia Ek Chor left his typhoon-stricken village in southern China in 1921 and began a new life in Thailand, selling vegetable seeds alongside his brother.

A hundred years later, his son, Dhanin Chearavanont, serves as the senior chairman of CP Group, a diversified conglomerate spanning food, retail, and telecommunications.

The group is the world's largest animal feedmaker, the top shrimp farmer, and one of the globe's largest poultry producers. It has operations in Indonesia, Singapore and Japan.

Dhanin’s grandson, Korawad, in 2020 established a tech startup whose clients include some of CP Group’s units.