As Indonesia’s Covid-19 cases crossed the half-million mark—the biggest outbreak among Southeast Asian countries—the country slipped into its first recession since the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
The economy contracted 5.3% and 3.5% (year-on-year) in the second and third quarters, respectively. The benchmark stock index fell more than 10% in the past 12 months.
Consequently, over half of the nation’s 50 richest saw their fortunes decline from a year ago. Despite these downdrafts, the collective wealth of Indonesia’s super wealthy was down only 1.2% from last year’s list to $133 billion.
R. Budi and Michael Hartono, who were among the minority that saw an uptick in their fortunes, are now worth $38.8 billion.