Ciputra or Tjiputra was an Indonesian businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He founded Ciputra Group, one of Indonesia's largest real estate companies, with three subsidiaries, including Ciputra Development, listed on the Jakarta Stock Exchange. Known as one of Indonesia's most generous philanthropists, he established ten schools, the Ciputra University of Entrepreneurship in Surabaya, and the Ciputra Artpreneur Museum in Jakarta. In 2018, Ciputra was ranked by Forbes as the 27th-richest person in Indonesia, with an estimated net worth of US$1.2 billion.
While still studying architecture in university, Ciputra and two friends, Budi Brasali and Ismail Sofyan, started a consulting firm. After graduation, he decided to become a property developer instead of a consultant. Having earned the trust of Soemarno Sosroatmodjo, the Governor of Jakarta, he became CEO of Pembangunan Jaya, a developer partly owned by the Jakarta provincial government. He worked for the company for 35 years and became a minority shareholder for his services. His major projects at Jaya included Ancol Dreamland and the Senen Market. Together with his university friends Brasali and Sofyan, he also founded the Metropolitan Group. Serving as President Commissioner, he provided guidance to the company, which counts the Salim Group as an investor. Metropolitan developed Pondok Indah in Jakarta and invested abroad. After his children graduated from universities overseas, Ciputra founded his family holding company, the Ciputra Group, for his four children. In addition to his children, his wife, brother, and children-in-law were all involved in its management. He also hired professional executives to manage the company, which developed more than 30 major projects in Indonesia and abroad, including Citra Raya in Surabaya. The Ciputra Group was severely impacted by the 1997 Asian financial crisis, during which the value of the Indonesian rupiah plunged and the company's US dollar-denominated debts became far more burdensome. In addition, anti-Chinese riots broke out in Indonesia, forcing Ciputra to abandon several projects as sales plummeted. It took the group years to restructure its debts, and it did not regain profitability until 2005. After recovering from the crisis, Ciputra diversified his business from Indonesia and invested in major projects in China, Cambodia, and Vietnam, where the group developed a high-profile international satellite city in Hanoi in partnership with the local government. The Ciputra Group has three subsidiaries listed on the Jakarta Stock Exchange: Ciputra Development, Ciputra Surya, and Ciputra Property. Ciputra Development is one of Indonesia's largest listed property companies. In 2018, Ciputra was ranked by Forbes as the 27th richest person in Indonesia, with an estimated net worth of US$1.2 billion.
Philanthropy
Ciputra was known as one of Indonesia's most generous philanthropists. Attributing his self-made success to his education, he established ten schools as well as the Ciputra University of Entrepreneurship in Surabaya. An avid art collector, in 2014 he opened the Ciputra Artpreneur Museum in Jakarta, which holds a large collection of works by his favourite artist, Hendra Gunawan.
Personal life
When he was 24, Ciputra married Dian Sumeler, whom he had met in Sulawesi. The couple had four children: Rina, Junita, Cakra, and Candra. All four children serve on the boards of the Ciputra Group and Ciputra Development, and his son Candra Ciputra also serves as President of Ciputra Development.
Death
On 27 November 2019, Ciputra died at age 88 at Gleneagles Hospital in Singapore, where he had been undergoing treatment for an illness. He was buried in a private cemetery at Jonggol, West Java on December 5 2019.
