Indonesia's Richest Man Distributes Rp30 Billion to Ensure the People Do Not Suffer

Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwana IX was the ruler of Yogyakarta in 1940. Behind his status as a king, he chose to live simply and was known for his hobby of helping the little people. Although the exact amount of his wealth is unknown, Hamengkubuwana IX is recorded in history as a generous figure who often distributed his assets. His wealth was inseparable from inheritance and the feudal system of the kingdom in that region. At the beginning of independence, he donated 6.5 million gulden to the government and 5 million gulden to the suffering people. That amount is equivalent to Rp20-30 billion in the present day. Despite having much money and a life full of honour, Sri Sultan did not become complacent. Many people recorded his habit of living without flaunting his wealth. In the book Tahta untuk Rakyat: Celah-Celah Kehidupan Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX (1982), he is recorded as once buying cart ice from the roadside in front of Klender Station, Jakarta, in 1946. At that time, the weather was very hot and the Sultan needed a refreshing drink. He could have gone to a restaurant and enjoyed it there, but he refused and chose to drink ice on the roadside. In addition, Sri Sultan also once became a rice transport truck driver. This story began when Sri Sultan drove his Land Rover truck from the countryside to the city centre. In the middle of the road, he was stopped by a female rice seller. The woman wanted to join to the city market. She even immediately asked the driver to help her load the rice onto the truck. Everything happened just like that without knowing that the person she was riding with was the King of Java. Sri Sultan then immediately complied and lifted two large sacks onto the truck. In the autobiography of Pranoto Reksosamodra titled Catatan Jenderal Pranoto Reksosamodra (2015), it is told that during the journey, the rice seller and Sri Sultan chatted animatedly without knowing that the conversation was taking place with the number one ruler. Upon arriving at the market, Sri Sultan also acted like an ordinary driver, namely unloading those sacks. Then, the rice seller gave him wages. However, Sri Sultan politely refused the payment and returned the money. The rice seller reacted angrily. She was offended and thought the truck driver did not want to accept the money because the amount was too small. Sri Sultan immediately left the rice seller. Meanwhile, the woman still could not accept the refusal and viewed the driver as arrogant and not needing money. With her mouth continuously grumbling, someone finally told the rice seller that the truck driver she had just scolded thoroughly was actually Sultan Hamengkubuwana IX. Upon hearing this, the rice seller was shocked and fainted, to the point of being taken to the hospital. The incident then reached Sri Sultan’s ears. Immediately, the Sultan drove his vehicle to the hospital and visited the rice seller.