Ang Tjoen Ming – but known only as Tahir – was born in an extremely poor area of Surabaya. His father made rickshaws. Initially he had wanted to become a doctor, and studied at medical school, but unfortunately, his father became ill, and Tahir was forced to quit his education to work in his father’s business to support the family.

His break came when he received a scholarship from Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University (then Nanyang Technological Institute) where he earned a bachelor of arts/science. Then, when he was 35 years old, he went to the United States, gaining his masters in financial education at the Golden Gates University in California.

While in Singapore, he set up a small company trading products from Singapore back to Surabaya. From this he got the idea for the Mayapada Group which he founded in 1986, trading in many diverse industries including automobiles, finance and garments. The Mayapada Bank managed to survive the 1998 financial crisis when many of its competitors went to the wall.

As well as his large real estate ventures, Tahir is well known for his philanthropy. Among his charitable donations is more than $100 million to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.