Indonesia, the region’s largest country by area and population, accounts for three out of the top five, based on net worth estimated by the Bloomberg Billionaire Index as of Nov. 21, 2025.
1. Prajogo Pangestu (Indonesia) – petrochemical firm Barito Pacific
 |
|
Indonesian billionaire Prajogo Pangestu. Photo courtesy of Barito Pacific |
As the founder and chairman of Indonesia’s biggest petrochemical group Barito Pacific, Prajogo Pangestu’s net worth is by far the highest in Southeast Asia.
So far this year, his wealth has jumped $16.6 billion to $46.3 billion, about twice the $20-24 billion held by others on this list.
Born in Sambas to a rubber-tapper father, Pangestu left school early and worked various jobs, including driving and selling shrimp paste and salted fish before entering the timber trade, according to the Business Times.
He eventually became known as the “Timber King” and in 1979 established Barito Pacific Timber, which would expand into multiple sectors, including pulp, paper and hospitality, before shifting its focus to energy and petrochemicals.
The firm was renamed Barito Pacific and acquired a majority stake in petrochemical producer Chandra Asri Petrochemical in 2007.
The 81-year-old tycoon’s wealth makes him the wealthiest man in Indonesia and the 37th richest in the world.
2. Low Tuck Kwong (Indonesia) – coal producer and port operator Bayan Resources
 |
|
Indonesian billionaire Low Tuck Kwong. Photo courtesy of SEAX Global |
Born in Singapore in 1948, Low Tuck Kwong started out by helping his father, who ran the civil construction firm Sum Cheong, on building projects at age 14.
Rather than take over the family business, he turned to Indonesia, a largely untapped market for Singaporean entrepreneurs at the time.
His first project there came in 1973, handling groundwork for an ice cream factory in Jakarta’s Ancol district. He later co-founded Jaya Sumpiles Indonesia, a contractor specializing in civil, earth, and marine works, eventually taking full control and expanding into contract coal mining in 1988.
As the country restricts foreign ownership of mining concessions, Low became an Indonesian citizen in 1992 and acquired his first mine, Gunungbayan Pratamacoal, five years later. He founded Bayan Resources in 2004, which went public in 2008, according to Forbes.
He also has stakes in healthcare group The Farrer Park Company and chairs SEAX Global, which is working on a submarine cable system linking Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia.
While Low, now 77, has renounced his Singapore citizenship, he maintains ties to the city-state. His net worth has slipped $3.44 billion this year to $24.4 billion, ranking him 99th globally.
3. Sukanto Tanoto (Indonesia) – resource-based manufacturing group Royal Golden Eagle
 |
|
Indonesian billionaire Sukanto Tanoto. Photo courtesy of Royal Golden Eagle |
Indonesian businessman Sukanto Tanoto, 75, is the founder of manufacturing conglomerate Royal Golden Eagle, a Singapore-based group with businesses spanning energy, palm oil, textiles, and timber.
Its major units include Sateri, a viscose fiber producer with a $3.3-billion revenue in 2023; April, a forestry products company generating $1.2 billion in revenue in 2024; Asia Symbol, a China-based forestry group with revenue of $3.2 billion in 2023; Apical, a palm oil trading firm that posted $5.9 billion in revenue in 2024; and tissue-maker Vinda, valued at $3.6 billion based on its August 2024 acquisition.
Born in 1949 to Chinese immigrants from Fujian, Tanoto joined his father’s small oil and construction business at 17 after his Chinese school in Indonesia shut down. He took over following his father’s passing.
The firm thrived during the 1970s as oil prices surged and Tanoto later ventured into palm oil cultivation in Indonesia after observing the industry’s success in Malaysia, according to Bloomberg.
Tanoto, who resides in Singapore, has a net worth of $20.8 billion, up $449 million in the year to date. He is the world’s 116th wealthiest man.
4. Robert Kuok (Malaysia) – conglomerate Kuok Group
 |
|
Malaysian tycoon Robert Kuok attends a meeting in Fuzhou, Fujian province, China April, 18, 2005. Photo by China Daily via Reuters |
Robert Kuok, 102, has been Malaysia’s richest man for more than a fifth of his life. He once topped the list of Southeast Asia’s wealthiest and now ranks fourth in the region and 118th globally. His net worth has grown by $3.35 billion this year to $20.7 billion.
Born in 1923 in Johor, Malaysia’s southernmost state, Kuok was the youngest of three brothers. His father, originally from China’s Fujian province, worked as a trader in agricultural commodities.
He inherited the family’s rice distribution business in 1948 along with his brothers and later diversified into commodities such as sugar and wheat flour after establishing the Kuok Group.
His business grew rapidly and he was said to have once commanded roughly 10% of the global sugar market, earning him the nickname of “Sugar King of Asia.”
The Kuok Group also includes Wilmar International, the world’s largest palm oil refiner, and the Shangri-La hotel chain. Kuok’s fortune is further supported by assets held through a network of companies, including Kuok (Singapore), Kuok Brothers in Malaysia and the Hong Kong-based Kerry Group.
5. Pham Nhat Vuong (Vietnam) – conglomerate Vingroup
 |
|
Vingroup chairman Pham Nhat Vuong seen at the company’s general meeting in April 2025. Photo courtesy of the company |
Pham Nhat Vuong, born in 1968 in Hanoi, enrolled at the Hanoi University of Mining and Geology in 1987 and later earned a scholarship to study at the Moscow Geological Prospecting Institute in Russia.
After graduating in 1993, he got married and moved to Kharkov, Ukraine, where he founded Technocom and began producing Mivina instant noodles. The brand quickly grew to capture up to 97% of Ukraine’s instant food market by 2004. Vuong sold Technocom’s Ukrainian branch to Nestlé for $150 million in 2010.
Since the 2000s, Vuong has invested heavily in Vietnam through two joint stock companies, mall operator Vincom and hospitality brand Vinpearl. In 2009, he renamed Technocom Group to Vingroup and moved its headquarters to Hanoi to fully focus on projects in Vietnam.
Under Vingroup, he launched a wide range of brands and subsidiaries including residential developer Vinhomes, healthcare firm Vinmec, education system Vinschool and electric vehicle maker VinFast.
Vuong, now 57, became the first Vietnamese to be named in Forbes’ global billionaire list in 2013 and has since remained the country’s richest man.
According to Bloomberg, his net worth, based on his stakes in Vingroup and Nasdaq-listed VinFast, has jumped $15 billion this year to $20.4 billion, ranking him 119th among the world’s wealthiest individuals.
