Quick Facts
Gemini
People born on this day
Biography
Erick Thohir (born 30 May 1970) is an Indonesian politician and businessman. He is the founder and chairman of Mahaka Group, a holding company which focuses on media and entertainment. He is also the former owner of Inter Milan and D.C. United, Director of Oxford United and President Director of antv and President of the Indonesian Olympic Committee. As of 23 October 2019 he is Minister of State Owned Enterprises in Indonesia. H
Early and personal life
Erick Thohir was born on 30 May 1970. His father, Teddy Thohir, was a co-owner of the automotive group Astra International with William Soeryadjaya. His brother, Garibaldi Thohir, is an investment banker and entrepreneur in the energy sector. He also has a sister, Rika Thohir. As a child, the younger Thohir helped the family business.
Thohir received his master's degree in 1993 from National University (California), United States.
Currently, Thohir's family holding company, TNT Group, has large investments in the Indonesian energy, foods, property and media industries. In 2015, the TNT group had a revenue of $1.1 billion.
Career
Upon his return to Indonesia, together with his colleagues, he formed the Mahaka Group.
In 2001, the Mahaka Group bought Republika, the biggest Islamic newspaper in Indonesia. Because of Thohir's background in communications, he was chosen to lead the paper. He received support from his father, as well as founder of Kompas Jakob Oetama and founder of Jawa Pos Dahlan Iskan to run this newspaper. The Mahaka Group spread its potential by investing in the outdoor advertising company Mahaka Advertising due to the growth of the economic and the city size in 2002.
After launching the television station Jak TV, Mahaka introduced the radio stations 98.7 Gen FM and 101 Jak FM, and participated in PT Radionet Cipta Karya (Prambors FM, Delta FM and FeMale Radio), as well as numerous advertising, ticketing, entertainment and digital companies.
Thohir is the founder of Darma Bakti Mahaka Foundation.
In 2011, together with Anindya Bakrie he co-owned the television stations tvOne, as well as the internet news site Viva News. In 2014, he was involved in a turnaround project and became the President Director of antv.
In 2018, incumbent president Joko Widodo picked Thohir as chief of his re-election campaign for the 2019 presidential election.
In 2019, among 10 other individuals Thohir was appointed to the International Olympic Committee.
Sports team ownership
After negotiations started after the 2011 NBA All-Star Game with former basketball agent Jason Levien and managing owner Joshua Harris, Thohir became part of the consortia that bought the Philadelphia 76ers. The consortia included actor Will Smith, his wife Jada Pinkett Smith, David S. Blitzer, of the private equity firm Blackstone Group and Indonesian businessman Handy Soetedjo. Comcast-Spectacor and Harris began talks in the summer of 2011. The deal was announced on 13 July 2011.
In addition to his business, Thohir also owns the basketball team, Satria Muda, and served as an honorary board member of the Indonesian Basketball Association (PERBASI / Persatuan Bola Basket Seluruh Indonesia) from 2015 to 2019.He has been President of SEABA (Southeast Asian Basketball Association) since 2006. He was a FIBA board member, Chef De Mission of Indonesia Contingent for the Olympic Games London 2012, and Chairman of National Olympic Committee for 2015–2019.
Basketball clubs
- Philadelphia 76ers
- Satria Muda
Football clubs
- D.C. United (formerly, until 2018)
- Inter Milan (formerly, until 2019)
- Persib Bandung (Commissioners)
- Oxford United (Board Member)
Chairman of Inter Milan
In September 2013, Inter Milan chairman (Italian: presidente, 'president') and owner Massimo Moratti confirmed that he was in discussions to sell a majority 70% stake in the club to Thohir. On 15 October 2013, after a long negotiation, International Sports Capital HK Limited, led by Thohir (for 60% stake), Handy Soetedjo (20%) and Rosan Roeslani (20%), became the majority shareholder of Inter Milan, acquiring a 70% stake of the club by a subscription of new shares. On 15 November 2013, the club's general meeting appointed Thohir as new chairman of the board of directors of Inter Milan, replacing Moratti, who would remain with the club as honorary chairman. Moratti left the position in late October 2014. During Thohir's presidency, former Inter star Javier Zanetti was hired as vice president (Italian: vice president [sic]) in 2014.
In June 2016, Thohir sold part of his stake in the club (via International Sports Capital) to Suning Holdings Group, chaired by Chinese billionaire entrepreneur Zhang Jindong. Thohir remained as the chairman of the club, as well as its second largest shareholder. On 26 October 2018, Zhang Jindong's son, Zhang Kangyang (Steven Zhang) became the new chairman, replacing Thohir.
On 25 January 2019, FC Internazionale Milano S.p.A (the legal entity of Inter Milan) officially announced that LionRock Capital from Hong Kong reached an agreement with Thohir's International Sports Capital HK Limited, in order to acquire its 31.05% shares in Inter Milan and to become the new minority shareholder in the Milanese football club.
