Tahir (Indonesian businessman)
Ang Tjoen Ming (born 26 March 1952), commonly known as Tahir,[1] is an Indonesian billionaire, and a banking and property magnate.[2] He is the founder of the Mayapada Group.[3]
Early life and education
Tahir was born in Surabaya, Indonesia in 1952, in a slum area.[4] He was raised by his parents who made living by constructing rickshaws called becak. In 1971, he graduated from Petra Kalianyar Christian High School in Surabaya. Tahir wanted to be a medical doctor, but when his father got sick and could not afford to support him anymore at medical school, he quit college to focus helping with his father's business.
He received a scholarship from Nanyang Technological Institute (now Nanyang Technological University) in Singapore, earning a Bachelor of Arts/Science. At the age of 35, he went to Golden Gate University in California, America and completed his Masters in financial education.
Business career
During his study in Singapore, he started small trade business, buying merchandise from Singapore and selling it in Surabaya, Indonesia, when he went home for vacation. This business was his introduction to import trading. In 1986, he established The Mayapada Group and expanded the business to many sectors including garments, finance, automobile dealership, health and media. During the 1998 monetary crises, Mayapada Bank survived even though many other banking corporations collapsed, because bank was not taking credit from international sources.
Philanthropy
In 2013, Tahir contributed more than US$100 million to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, an organization that provides funding for efforts to fight major diseases such as HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, polio and malaria.[5][6]
References
- "Tahir & family". Forbes. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
- Birtles, Bill (22 October 2013). "Indonesian billionaire chips in to help Global Fund". Radio Australia. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
- "Bill Gates Foundation Comes to Indonesia to Join Fight against Diseases". Indonesia-Investments.com. Indonesia Investments. 10 January 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
- Living Sacrifice, Alberthiene Endah (Author) Published, October 2015
- Post, The Jakarta. "Dato' Sri Prof. Dr. Tahir: Being the son-in-law of Lippo Group founder". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- "Living Sacrifice". goodreads.com. Retrieved 11 December 2018.