In 2001, the U.S. Department of Justice fined Indonesian tycoon James Riady $8.6 million for violating federal election laws restricting foreign campaign financing in his contributions to Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign. Recently, Riady’s family “market its American comeback” by acquiring the U.S. Bank Tower in Los Angeles for $367.5 million through OUE, an entity controlled by the Riady family,
the
Financial Times
reported.
The Riadys, devout evangelical Christians, are an ethnic Chinese family from Indonesia. Their Lippo Group is an “amorphous collection of hundreds of companies” with investments in real estate, health care, retail, technology and education throughout Asia, the
FT
article said.
Founder Mochtar Riady, 84, works with his sons James and Stephen. The
FT
article said the family was “forced to revamp their property, retail and banking empire in response to their U.S. problems and the financial crisis that hit Indonesia in 1997.” They reaped the rewards of Indonesia’s economic recovery, the report noted.
James Riady overseas the group’s interests in Indonesia; Stephen is in charge of businesses in Singapore and the rest of Asia. The third generation is moving into key roles, the
FT
article said. (Source:
Financial Times,
Oct. 14, 2013.)
-
1556 reads