Indonesian gold mining magnate Jimmy Budiarto set up the Rao Family Foundation with his wife to support charitable causes. - Rao Family Foundation via ST/ANN
SINGAPORE: Indonesian gold mining magnate Jimmy Budiarto, 48, and his wife Yohana Limarno are no strangers to philanthropy.
Limarno, 47, founded WonderFood and WonderSchool, which are non-profit organisations that offer food and education to underserved communities in Indonesia.
After relocating to Singapore in 2023 with hopes of settling down here, the Budiartos set up the Rao Family Foundation a year later to support charitable causes.
“Rao” is Budiarto’s Chinese surname, reflecting his Indonesian-Chinese heritage, said James Zou, a director at the foundation.
Registered as a charity in January 2025, the Rao Family Foundation is among a growing number of philanthropic foundations set up by the super-wealthy from all over the world in Singapore in the past three years.
These include the Dalio Foundation by American hedge fund billionaire Ray Dalio and his family, the Elaine and Eduardo Saverin Foundation by Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, and Indonesian coal tycoon Low Tuck Kwong’s foundation bearing his name.
The Budiartos have three children, aged between 16 and 20, and the younger two are studying in Singapore.
Zou said: “They love Singapore. It has a strong Chinese culture and a good balance of East and West.”
“Budiarto loves nature and to walk in the parks, and there are plenty of parks in Singapore for him to walk.”
He described Budiarto, the chairman of J Resources, as a very generous and warm person.
J Resources, which currently operates five gold mines, had a revenue of US$236 million as at the end of 2024. Budiarto is the majority shareholder of the company, which is listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange.
Zou said the Budiartos have a family office in Singapore as well, and they hope the Rao Family Foundation can continue their charitable giving for generations to come.
One area the foundation is supporting is autism. This is because some senior staff at J Resources have children with autism and Budiarto has seen their challenges, Zou said.
The tragedy involving a father who killed his twin autistic sons in 2022 also saddened Budiarto, and he had asked Zou if they could do something to help ease the burden of parents with autistic children.
Zou said there are fewer resources and services for individuals with disabilities after they turn 18 years of age, and the foundation sees its role as plugging critical gaps and being a forerunner in advancing under-represented causes.
He added: “We want to bring light to the dark, in areas where there are fewer donations.”
To this end, the foundation partnered St Andrew’s Autism Centre (SAAC) to launch the Centre of Advocacy and Public Education in July 2024.
SAAC’s chief executive Bernard Chew said the aim of the centre is to “foster understanding and shift perceptions so that people with autism are accepted, embraced and given opportunities like anyone else”.
He added: “This work matters because many people with autism and their families continue to face misunderstanding, exclusion, and limited access to the support and opportunities they need for a better quality of life.”
For example, the Centre of Advocacy and Public Education is working with various organisations to build a more inclusive environment for people with autism, Zou said.
Chew said that it is uncommon for donors here to fund advocacy efforts, as they typically prefer to fund programmes and services for beneficiaries.
The foundation is also funding CaringSG’s Carewell programme, where caregivers of people with autism are supported by a trained professional in their caregiving roles in various ways. CaringSG is a charity that supports caregivers of people with disabilities.
While MZou declined to reveal the extent of Budiarto’s wealth, he said that Budiarto’s father is Johan Lensa, the former owner of Bukit Makmur Mandiri Utama, a firm that was once among Indonesia’s largest coal mining contractors.
Zou said: “We want to inspire other family offices to contribute to society. If every family is to adopt just one cause – guided not by obligation but by compassion – we believe the collective impact would be extraordinary.” - The Straits Times/ANN
