Martua Sitorus
Photo: Kungkang, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Martua Sitorus Net Worth

Palm oil businessman
BillionaireBusiness
Estimated net worth
$3.5B
Source: Forbes Real-Time Billionaires, October 20, 2026. Updated October 23, 2026.

Martua Sitorus’s net worth over time

$1.7B: Forbes World's Billionaires List 2019 estimate, 2019$1.7B2019$1.8B: Forbes World's Billionaires List 2020 estimate, 2020$1.8B2020$2B: Forbes World's Billionaires List 2021 estimate, 2021$2B2021$2.9B: Forbes World's Billionaires List 2022 estimate, 2022$2.9B2022$3B: Forbes World's Billionaires List 2023 estimate, 2023$3B2023$3.4B: Forbes World's Billionaires List 2024 estimate, 2024$3.4B2024$3.5B: Forbes World's Billionaires List 2025 estimate, 2025$3.5B2025$3.6B: Forbes World's Billionaires List 2026 estimate, 2026$3.6B2026$3.5B: Forbes Real-Time Billionaires estimate, Oct 2026. Forbes real-time estimate$3.5BOct 2026

Only dates with a published estimate are shown. Nothing is filled in between. Tap or hover a bar to see the source.

See the numbers as a table
DateEstimateSource
2019$1.7 billionForbes World's Billionaires List 2019
2020$1.8 billionForbes World's Billionaires List 2020
2021$2 billionForbes World's Billionaires List 2021
2022$2.9 billionForbes World's Billionaires List 2022
2023$3 billionForbes World's Billionaires List 2023
2024$3.4 billionForbes World's Billionaires List 2024
2025$3.5 billionForbes World's Billionaires List 2025
2026$3.6 billionForbes World's Billionaires List 2026
Oct 2026$3.5 billionForbes Real-Time Billionaires · Forbes real-time estimate

Where the money comes from

Palm oil

These are the main sources of wealth named in the reporting we cite. No published source breaks the total into exact amounts, so we do not show percentages.

Martua Sitorus’s fortune in real-life terms

53,504 years
for the median full-time U.S. worker to earn this much, spending nothing
16,196×
the net worth of the typical U.S. family
0.4%
of Elon Musk's fortune, the biggest on Net Worth Lookup

Based on the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires estimate above. Median full-time U.S. pay is $65,416 a year ($1,258 a week, BLS, Q2 2026), before taxes. Typical (median) U.S. family net worth is $216,100 (Federal Reserve, 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances).

How do you compare to Martua Sitorus? New

Type your yearly income and see how you stack up. It runs in your browser: nothing you type is saved or sent anywhere.

Full comparison + share card →

Martua Sitorus has an estimated net worth of $3.5 billion, according to Forbes Real-Time Billionaires, Martua Sitorus profile (figures as of October 20, 2026). That is up from $1.7 billion in 2019.

Martua Sitorus is an Indonesian businessman known for building major palm oil businesses. He cofounded Wilmar with Kuok Khoon Hong in 1991, and the company grew into one of the world’s largest palm oil traders. Before that, he was an economics student who traded shrimp as a teenager and later moved into palm oil. Forbes put his net worth at $3.5 billion on its real-time billionaires tracker as of October 20, 2026.

His wealth comes mainly from palm oil and other manufacturing and property businesses. After Wilmar, he and his brother Ganda cofounded KPN, formerly called Gama, with interests in palm oil plantations, property development and cement manufacturing. The family’s cement company Cemindo Gemilang listed shares in 2021 and raised $77 million. Their hospital company Murni Sadar followed with a 2022 IPO that raised $21 million.

How Martua Sitorus built his fortune

Sitorus made his name in palm oil. In 1991, he and Kuok Khoon Hong started Wilmar, a Singapore-based company that became one of the world’s biggest palm oil producers and traders. Wilmar’s operations grew across oil palm cultivation, edible oils, sugar, specialty fats, oleochemicals, biodiesel, fertilizers and grains processing. The company also built a wide manufacturing and distribution footprint, with more than 300 plants and reach across China, India, Indonesia, the United States and about 50 other countries.

He later expanded beyond Wilmar. Sitorus stepped off Wilmar’s board in 2018, but he and his brother Ganda built KPN, once known as Gama, into a broader business group. Its interests include palm oil plantations, property development and cement manufacturing. In 2024, KPN’s property arm Gama Land worked with the Ciputra Group to build a township in Medan, North Sumatra. The family also took Cemindo Gemilang public in 2021 and brought Murni Sadar to market in 2022.

What Forbes says about his net worth

Forbes has tracked Sitorus’s fortune rising over time. It estimated his net worth at $1.7 billion in 2019, then $2.9 billion in 2022, and $3.6 billion on the 2026 World’s Billionaires List. That increase lines up with his long exposure to palm oil and his family’s added stakes in cement, hospitals and property. He is also listed by Forbes as self-made, with wealth tied to palm oil and the manufacturing industry.

The latest move was small rather than dramatic. Forbes showed $3.5 billion on its real-time billionaires tracker in October 2026, a bit below the annual 2026 list figure. Recent business activity helps explain why his wealth base is broader than one company. Cemindo Gemilang raised $77 million in its 2021 share sale, Murni Sadar raised $21 million in 2022, and Gama Land pushed ahead with a Medan township project in 2024.

Career and money timeline

  1. 1991

    He cofounded Wilmar with Kuok Khoon Hong.

  2. 2011

    He and his brother Ganda cofounded Gama, now called KPN.

  3. 2018

    He stepped off the board of Wilmar.

  4. 2021

    Cemindo Gemilang listed shares and raised $77 million.

  5. 2022

    Murni Sadar raised $21 million through an IPO.

  6. 2024

    Gama Land helped build a township in Medan, North Sumatra.

Martua Sitorus net worth FAQ

What is Martua Sitorus's net worth?

Martua Sitorus's net worth is an estimated $3.5 billion, according to Forbes Real-Time Billionaires, Martua Sitorus profile (October 20, 2026). It is an estimate, not an official figure.

How did Martua Sitorus get so rich?

The main sources named in the reporting we cite are: Palm oil.

Is Martua Sitorus a billionaire?

Yes. Forbes Real-Time Billionaires estimates Martua Sitorus is worth $3.5 billion.

How has Martua Sitorus's net worth changed?

The earliest published estimate we track is $1.7 billion (2019, Forbes World's Billionaires List 2019). The latest is $3.5 billion (October 20, 2026).

What company made Martua Sitorus famous?

Wilmar made him widely known. He cofounded it with Kuok Khoon Hong in 1991, and it became one of the world’s largest palm oil traders.

What businesses does Martua Sitorus have outside Wilmar?

He and his brother Ganda cofounded KPN, formerly Gama. It has interests in palm oil plantations, property development and cement manufacturing.