Young Sukanto Tanoto

After knowing the hard facts of how Sukanto Tanoto established his businesses, we will go deeper into the not-so-obvious parts of this journey.

Behind all the glory and success, Sukanto Tanoto went through many obstacles and hurdles that challenged him. However, despite all the difficulties, he emerged stronger each time he faced a hurdle.

Sukanto Tanoto began his journey as an entrepreneur at a young age of 17 years old. Compared to other teenagers with the same age, he did not have an easy life that allowed him to have fun without worry. He was expected to help in the budding family business.

As the eldest son in the family, Amin Tanoto, Sukanto Tanoto’s father was determined to let him take over the business. It was through this experience that Sukanto Tanoto learnt many important entrepreneurial spirit and attitude that acted as a strong foundation for his future business decisions. One of his first few profitable and successful businesses is the construction of gas pipeline for an MNC company in 1972. This was exceptionally profitable due to the oil crisis at that period of time. His contribution to Indonesia’s economy is an undeniable one and the positive impacts he created is a fact well known to many.

Since young, Sukanto Tanoto has a unique charisma that allowed him to build strong relationships with the people around him. Be it building a bridge with the higher authority or with his subordinates, Sukanto Tanoto always win people over by his genuineness and sincerity. It is precisely such talent that enabled him to be able to feel for the people around him. He cares for the community that his businesses are operating in, and could not turn his back on the many social problems that were present. One of the most evident problems is the need for education. Ever since, he has contributed significantly to the education sector of Indonesia and other countries such as China and Singapore by offering financial subsidies, scholarships and teacher training programmes.