Indonesia's richest man, Michael Bambang Hartono, dies at 86

Michael Bambang Hartono, long ranked as Indonesia's richest man, has died at the age of 86. As the Associated Press reports, he died at a hospital in Singapore, according to a statement from his company, the Djarum Group. The family did not give a cause, though he had suffered from a lung condition and a heart attack in the past.

Together with his brother Robert Budi Hartono, he turned a business he inherited into one of Indonesia's largest family empires, based in the Central Java town of Kudus. The group's flagship, PT Djarum, makes kretek, the clove-scented cigarettes that are a staple of Indonesian life. But the family's wealth spread far beyond tobacco, into banking, palm oil, property, electronics, telecoms, and online shopping.

Their most valuable holding is Bank Central Asia, or BCA, Indonesia's biggest bank, where the brothers are the largest shareholders. The bank alone brought in about 57.5 trillion rupiah (US$3.43 billion) in revenue last year, a measure of how central the family has become to the country's economy.

Why it matters

The Hartono family sits at the center of Indonesia's economy, from the bank many people use to the cigarettes sold on every corner, so how the empire passes to the next generation matters well beyond one family. Big family-run groups like this shape jobs, prices, and investment across the country. Watch how ownership and control of businesses like BCA and Djarum settle after his death.