Hidden Billionaire in Indonesia Reaps Gains From Palm Oil

Gains from a share sale of Bumitama Agri Ltd., an Indonesian palm oil producer, and the growth of mining in Southeast Asia’s largest economy have made Lim Hariyanto Wijaya Sarwono a billionaire.

The 84-year-old chairman of Harita Group, a closely held conglomerate based in Jakarta, is worth at least $1.8 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The billionaire and his son, Lim Gunawan Hariyanto, own about 53 percent of Bumitama Agri, whose shares have outpaced other companies that raised at least $50 million in an initial public offering in Singapore this year. Lim had also planned to sell shares in its nickel mining business in the city-state’s stock exchange.