In this biography
Quick facts
- Born
- 18 June 1962
- Birthplace
- Jakarta
- Country
- Indonesia
- Nationality
- Indonesian
- Known for
- Building CT Corp across banking, media, retail, property and entertainment
- Company
- CT Corp
- Core fields
- Finance, media, retail and leisure
- Government role
- Coordinating economic minister, May–October 2014
- Education
- Dentistry, University of Indonesia
Why this life matters
Chairul Tanjung connected banking, television, retail and leisure under one Indonesian-controlled group, then briefly moved from private enterprise into national economic policy.
Timeline
Key moments
Built the Para Group
Bank Mega’s company history dates the start of his Para Group business to 1987.
Para Group acquired Mega Bank
Bought the existing bank, founded as Bank Karman in 1969 and renamed Mega Bank in 1992.
Trans TV began national broadcasts
The group’s television station says it began national broadcasting on 15 December.
Publicly launched the CT Corp name
Contemporaneous reporting records the launch on 1 December; Bank Mega’s retrospective company history instead dates the rebrand to 2008.
Served as economic coordinating minister
Held the office from 19 May to 27 October under President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
A dentistry student builds a business
Chairul Tanjung trained in dentistry at the University of Indonesia, but his commercial career began before he left campus. CT Corp describes him as a first-generation entrepreneur who established a business while studying, and the World Economic Forum records his dentistry degree and later management training. These accounts make his education part of the story without suggesting that a dental practice itself became CT Corp. The path was through a series of ventures, followed by the Para Group and a shift toward finance, media and consumer services.
Bank Mega’s company history dates Para Group’s founding to 1987. Its early activities included shoes for export and roof tiles for domestic housing, before moving more deeply into financial services, property and multimedia. The group’s own account is useful for its corporate chronology but is also a company description of its founder; claims about business success and influence should be read with that source perspective in mind.
Banking before the CT Corp name
One important distinction is that Chairul did not found Bank Mega from scratch. The bank began as Bank Karman in Surabaya in 1969, changed its name to Mega Bank in 1992 and was acquired by Para Group in 1996. The group then developed it as a major financial holding. A bank annual report and its present corporate history both set out that predecessor sequence, so the profile describes an acquisition and subsequent expansion rather than inventing a 1996 founding date.
The group also entered national television. Trans TV says its national broadcasts began in December 2001 and identifies itself as an early media company within what became CT Corp. Banking and television served different markets, but together they show the reach of a consumer-focused conglomerate. Bank Mega’s retrospective history dates the CT Corp rebrand to 2008. However, contemporaneous coverage records Chairul publicly launching the CT Corp name on 1 December 2011. These accounts give different dates and should not be collapsed into a single uncontested rebranding chronology. The name change was a group identity milestone, not the beginning of its banking or broadcasting businesses.
Public office and continuing control
Chairul chaired Indonesia’s National Economic Committee from 2010 to 2014. The Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs dates his subsequent term as minister from 19 May to 27 October 2014, replacing Hatta Rajasa for the final months of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s administration. That was a short appointment, not a multiyear cabinet career. It put an established private-sector leader inside national economic coordination at the end of one presidency.
The business story continued beyond that appointment. Bank Mega’s 2024 annual report traces its parent, Mega Corpora, to entities owned by Chairul and his family; the bank’s corporate site also identifies him as president commissioner. These disclosures support an account of ongoing group control, although they are not an independent valuation of his personal wealth or a claim that he personally manages every subsidiary. CT Corp’s own portfolio spans finance, media, leisure, entertainment, property and retail. The breadth makes Chairul an important figure in Indonesian consumer business, while the short ministerial role creates a separate question about how business leadership and public office intersect.
Quick answers
Frequently asked questions about Chairul Tanjung
- What is Chairul Tanjung known for?
- He founded CT Corp, formerly Para Group, whose businesses span financial services, media, retail, entertainment and property.
- Did Chairul Tanjung found Bank Mega?
- No. It began as Bank Karman in 1969 and became Mega Bank in 1992. His Para Group acquired the existing bank in 1996.
- When did Para Group become CT Corp?
- Bank Mega’s retrospective profile gives 2008, while contemporary reporting records a public launch on 1 December 2011. The sources do not establish one uncontested date.
- Was Chairul Tanjung an Indonesian minister?
- Yes. The Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs records his term from 19 May to 27 October 2014, replacing Hatta Rajasa.
Keep exploring
Lives connected to this story
- Anthoni Salim
Compare another Indonesian diversified group’s family succession, food businesses and separate listed-company roles.
- Hary Tanoesoedibjo
Compare MNC’s separately developed media and investment group with CT Corp.
- Rachmat Gobel
Compare an Indonesian electronics industrialist whose business career also led to a national cabinet portfolio.
- Shinta Kamdani
Compare another Indonesian diversified group and a business leader’s work through B20 and employer representation.
- Martha Tilaar
Another Indonesian founder who built a consumer-facing group across several businesses.
- Susi Pudjiastuti
Compare a business founder whose career also led to national cabinet office.
Sources and further reading
Explore the evidence
These references support the biography and offer further reading. Official records, first-person accounts and independent reporting provide different perspectives; image records document attribution and licensing.
- 1. CT CorpChairul Tanjung — Founder and Chairman
- 2. Coordinating Ministry for Economic AffairsProfile of Chairul Tanjung as coordinating minister
The ministry profile supplies exact 2014 cabinet dates; the business role is separately supported by company and bank disclosures.
- 3. World Economic ForumChairul Tanjung Gafar
- 4. Wikimedia CommonsChairul Tanjung portrait and licence record
- 5. Bank MegaBank Mega company history
Bank Mega’s retrospective distinguishes the bank’s 1969 origin and 1996 acquisition, but dates the CT Corp rebrand to 2008. Contemporary reporting documents a public launch on 1 December 2011. The discrepancy is disclosed rather than resolved through an undocumented internal-versus-public sequence.
- 6. Bank MegaBank Mega company profile in English
- 7. Trans TVTrans TV on its December 2001 start
- 8. Bank MegaBank Mega 2024 annual report
- 9. Bank MegaBank Mega management committee
- 10. detikFinance · original launch-event reporting1 December 2011: Chairul publicly launches CT Corp
Contemporary reporting quotes Chairul’s public name-change announcement. This source is affiliated with his business group; it documents the launch, not an independent assessment of performance. It does not establish why Bank Mega’s retrospective gives 2008.
- 11. Trans7 / detik · contemporary video descriptionCT Corp launch at Menara Bank Mega, 1 December 2011
The page description corroborates the 1 December 2011 launch. Its 2 December publication is not the event date; the video soundtrack was not newly inspected.
