Anthony Salim, born Liem Hong Sien (Chinese: 林逢生; pinyin: Lín Féngshēng; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Lîm Hông Senn; born 25 October 1949), is an Indonesian businessman and investor. He is the head of the conglomerate Salim Group and the chairman of First Pacific, a Hong Kong–based investment management firm.

Anthony Salim
林逢生
Born (1949-10-25) 25 October 1949 (age 75)
Kudus, Central Java, Indonesia
Alma materEwell County Technical College
Occupation(s)Businessman, investor
Organization(s)Salim Group
First Pacific
ParentSudono Salim (father)
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese
Simplified Chinese
Hanyu PinyinLín Féng Shēng
Hokkien POJLîm Hông Senn

Early life

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Salim was born in Kudus, Central Java (a town nearby the main provincial capital city of Semarang) to entrepreneur Sudono Salim (1916–2012) and Lie Las Nio (1924–2015). His father was an emigrant turned naturalized Indonesian citizen who settled in Kudus before emigrating to Jakarta. His mother was a local-born full-blooded Chinese.

His father founded the Salim Group, which Anthoni acceded after his father's death. He completed his education in 1971 at Ewell County Technical College (now North East Surrey College of Technology) in the United Kingdom.[1][2][3] Despite not excelling in his studies, he became a successful businessman and investor after his return to Indonesia.[3]

During the May 1998 riots, his family's home was set on fire and he fled to Singapore.[4]

If your house is already burned, the next thing they would try to do is get the people, you don't want to get caught in the middle of something like that.

— Anthoni Salim

After the riots subsided, he returned to Jakarta to rebuild his conglomerate and to pay off some $5 billion in remaining debt.[4]

Career

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In 1998, during the Indonesian monetary crisis, Salim's father handed the company to Anthoni while the company had high debts.[3] Now, he controls many of Salim Group's subsidiaries such as Indofood and Indomaret. He has served as the Chairman of First Pacific since 2003, after serving as a director since 1981.[5]

He is listed as substantial shareholder (74%) of Indofood Agri Resources, a Singaporean agriculture holding company often criticized for working with dubious shadow companies involved in obtaining palm oil from undisclosed, contested land.[6][7]

Forbes listed his net worth at $8.5 billion as of December 2021.[8]

Family

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At the age of 25, Salim married Siti Margareth Jusuf.[3] They have three children.

His oldest son, Axton (born in 1979), studied business administration in Colorado and has had leading roles in the Salim Group's companies. He has been a director of Indofood[9] since 2009, and non-executive director of IndoAgri since 2007.[10][11] His youngest son, Djaya, became a process designer in Singapore.

References

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  1. ^ "Anthoni Salim". Bloomberg. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  2. ^ "Anthoni SalimIndofood CBP". InfoFoodCBP. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d Borsuk, Richard (2014). Liem Sioe Liong's Salim Group : the Business Pillar of Suharto's Indonesia. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. ISBN 978-9814459570.
  4. ^ a b Landler, Mark (16 May 1999). "Year of Living Dangerously For a Tycoon in Indonesia". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  5. ^ "Management Team". firstpacific. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  6. ^ "Indofood Agri Resources Ltd". indofoodagri.listedcompany.com. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  7. ^ "Indofood Agri Resources – Material Risks from Contested Land and Labor Issues". chainreactionresearch.com. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  8. ^ "Forbes Profile: Anthoni Salim". Forbes. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  9. ^ "Axton Salim | Indofood". www.indofood.com. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  10. ^ "Business Leaders". marketscreener. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  11. ^ "Axton Salim- Indofood". indofood. Retrieved 28 April 2020.