Sukanto Tanoto is the charismatic and hardworking founder behind Singapore-based RGE (Royal Golden Eagle). While it was his vision and passion that led the resources giant to the size and scale it is today, building up the family business was and still is very much a team effort.

Together with his wife, Tinah Bingei Tanoto, they worked together to grow RGE and their four children spent much of their youth on the palm oil plantations, observing their parents at work.

His youngest child Anderson, who is a director at RGE, recounted some of his early memories.

"I spent four or five summers actually in Kerinci, in Riau for example or in the plantations," he said. "It was fun as a young kid being in nature, being fascinated by large structures wearing hard hats and going through the different canals and the rivers."

It is a similar memory shared by Sukanto's second youngest child Belinda, who is a member on the Tanoto Foundation Board of Trustees.

"Growing up, we always go to the back to the fields and to the plantation… so we always have this very strong emotional connection to the business," she said.

The roots of RGE go back to 1967 in Medan, Indonesia, where a young Sukanto honed his business skills. A tough family situation forced him to take over his father's spare parts supply business and his entrepreneurial journey started a few years later.

RGE, previously known as Rajah Garuda Mas, started in the plywood business. Slowly, it branched out into palm oil as well as to pulp and paper. Today, the company is a resources heavyweight with operations spanning seven groups and a growing presence in Southeast Asia, China, India and Brazil and assets exceeding $18 billion.

This year, RGE and its founder Sukanto, celebrate their 50^th year in the business.

"From that humble beginning, he's managed to build a business that's grown… from the local level, to the national, to regional and global. And I think the biggest lesson that I learned from him is that sense of perseverance and hard work… that entrepreneurial spirit is something that we appreciate and we look forward to preserving in the future generations." Belinda said.

It was 20 years ago, during the Asian Financial Crisis that was one of the biggest tests of Sukanto's entrepreneurial journey. He recalled having to divest a 50-50 venture with a European partner in China.

As a result, Sukanto brought in almost $1 billion back to Indonesia and felt it was the right strategic decision for "short term pain, long term gain."