“The soft-spoken Mr. Liem's worst-kept secret to success, analysts said, was close ties to late dictator Gen. Suharto before and during his 32 years of authoritarian rule, which ended in the late 1990s. The two became friends when Gen. Suharto was still on his way up in the ranks of the military. When Gen. Suharto took control of the country in the 1960s and was looking for ways to develop the economy, he often turned to his friend Mr. Liem, effectively giving him control of key profitable businesses, analysts said. Today the family is worth around $3.6 billion, according to a Forbes estimate, or $8.5 billion, according to calculations by Indonesian business magazine Globe Asia. The family has huge palm-oil plantations, the world's biggest instant-noodle company, PT Indofood Sukses Makmur, and is expanding aggressively outside of Indonesia through First Pacific Co., 0142.HK +4.58%which is listed in Hong Kong.”
