Hasan is among world’s richest

Forbes magazine has listed Indonesian tycoon Muhammad “Bob” Hasan (above) as one of the richest men in the world.

But Mr Hasan claimed he did not know how wealthy he was.

“I don’t know. I can only eat three times a day,” he said in an interview recently, according to news reports.

Forbes’ latest list of the world’s wealthiest people had him in the 99th position with a net worth of about US$3 billion (S$4.5 billion). He is, however, determined to give his money back to society to help the poor.

“We are giving it back to foundations so that when we are not around anymore, the foundations can still help those who need help,” he said.

The two primary foundations headed by President Suharto but run by Mr Hasan are called the Yayasan Supersemar, which provides free education to children, and the Yayasan Darmais, which runs homes and hospitals for the elderly, disabled and orphaned.

He said: “It is my personal ambition to distribute my wealth because there are still people living below the poverty line.”