Bogor Land Purchase Brings Three Generations of Wealth to Jakarta Family
Land is an investment asset whose price rises annually. The value of vacant land assets often appreciates significantly, enabling high-value sales.
Like a falling durian, Jakarta resident Jonathan Michiels experienced unexpected fortune when purchasing land in Bogor, West Java. Initially acquiring vacant plots, he later discovered hidden treasure, instantly becoming one of the wealthiest individuals whose fortune endured for three generations.
How did this story unfold?
Legend has it that Jonathan Michiels, a Jakarta resident (formerly Batavia), purchased land in Bogor’s Cileungsi and Klapanunggal between 1776 and 1778. He acquired the land from VOC officials at varying prices: 29,500 Dutch guilders for Cileungsi and 26,400 for Klapanunggal.
Both plots shared similar characteristics: vacant land covered in trees with hilly terrain resembling mountains. At the time of purchase, Jonathan did not survey every inch of the land and was unaware of its true condition, buying it purely as an investment.
However, Jonathan was stunned to discover hidden treasure on his land: valuable bird’s nests. The hilly terrain had become a nesting site for swiftlets.
It is worth noting that bird’s nests were a valuable colonial-era commodity alongside spices. They were typically used by nobility for culinary or aesthetic purposes. Few places worldwide host swiftlet nesting sites, making them highly valuable—Indonesia being one such location.
This revelation proved a windfall for Jonathan, who swiftly began selling the bird’s nests at astronomical prices.
Jean Gelman Taylor’s The Social World of Batavia (1983) notes that Jonathan’s life transformed; he became one of Batavia’s wealthiest individuals. Using the profits, he acquired more land.
Realising his mortality, Jonathan drafted a will in 1800, bequeathing the land to his five children: Andries, Pieter, Augustijn, Elizabeth, and Geetruida. This inheritance ensured the Michiels family prospered for two generations.
One of the wealthiest descendants was Augustijn, who inherited Jonathan’s entire fortune as his siblings died young.
According to F de Haan’s De Laatste der Mardijkers (1917), Augustijn’s inherited wealth granted him significant privileges, effectively making him extremely wealthy without needing to work.
Nevertheless, Augustijn managed his money shrewdly, purchasing new land for rental income. Records show he acquired properties in Nambo, Cipanas, Ciputri, Cibarusah, Naggewer, and other outskirts of Batavia, now part of Bogor and Bekasi regencies.
De Haan estimated Augustijn’s land holdings equated to the Dutch province of Utrecht’s area of 1,449 km² or 144,000 hectares. The wealth was also invested in other ventures, including gold mining and extensive property assets.
All this further increased the Michiels family’s wealth. Augustijn died on 27 January 1883, bequeathing his entire fortune to his children—the third generation.