Indonesian Health Minister Says People with Rp15 Million Salary Are Smarter, Healthier

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia's Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin has drawn attention after making a controversial statement.

Most recently, he stated that the amount of salary can also be a measure of someone's intelligence and health. "If he is not healthy and intelligent, it is impossible for his salary to be Rp 15 million, it must be Rp 5 million," Budi Gunadi said in a discussion forum about the Health Vision Era of Prabowo in Jakarta, Saturday, May 17, 2025. "Now the challenge is how to raise it from Rp 5 million to 15 million in 2045."

So, what is the figure of Budi Gunadi Sadikin like?

Profile of Budi Gunadi Sadikin

According to Antara, Budi Gunadi Sadikin was born in Bogor, West Java, on May 6, 1964. He has a strong educational background and experience in the field of economics and banking before switching to the health sector.

He completed his undergraduate education (S1) in nuclear physics at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) in 1988. Although his academic degree leaned more towards the field of science and technology (STEM), he instead accumulated various career experiences in the economic and banking sectors.

Budi Gunadi started his career as an Information Technology Staff at IBM Asia Pacific headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. He continued to work at IBM, but at the Indonesian office, with his final position being Systems Integration & Professional Services Manager until 1994.

In the same year, Budi Gunadi moved to PT Bank Bali Tbk and held several important roles until 1999, such as General Manager Electronic Banking, Chief General Manager Human Resources, and Chief General Manager for the Jakarta region. After that, he joined ABN Amro Bank Indonesia as Director of Consumer Banking until 2004.

Next, he worked as Executive Vice President (EVP) of Consumer Banking at Bank Danamon, and then as Director at Adira Quantum Multi Finance. He also briefly served as President Director of PT Bank Mandiri (Persero) Tbk, after previously holding the position of Director of Micro and Retail Banking.

Not only that, Budi Gunadi also served as Special Staff (Stafsus) of the Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) Rini Soemarno from 2016-2017, and Deputy Minister of BUMN I since November 2019. Then, he was appointed as Minister of Health in the era of Joko Widodo's (Jokowi) government on December 23, 2020, and was re-inaugurated by President Prabowo Subianto for the period 2024-2029.

Wealth of Budi Gunadi Sadikin

Referring to the electronic Wealth Report of State Officials (e-LHKPN) seen from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) website, Budi Gunadi first reported his total wealth when he became Director of Micro & Retail Banking at Bank Mandiri, amounting to Rp 26,040,188,683 on June 30, 2009.

After that, he submitted the Wealth Report four years later when he became President Director of Bank Mandiri, with an amount of Rp 54,278,662,323 in 2013. Four years after that, he was known to report his total wealth as President Director of PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium (Inalum), with a nominal value of Rp 123,645,454,421 in 2017 and Rp 143,848,457,242 in 2018.

While serving as Deputy Minister of BUMN I, Budi Gunadi again submitted a report on his wealth, amounting to Rp 161,792,059,459 by 2019. The following year, he became Minister of Health and recorded submitting the Wealth Report five times, which were Rp 164,560,176,275 in 2020, Rp 180,358,886,597 in 2021, Rp 182,415,145,262 in 2022, and Rp 200,537,426,176 in 2023.

The last Wealth Report submitted by Budi Gunadi was on Sunday, January 19, 2025, with a total reaching Rp 208,243,803,179. Here are the details:

• Land and buildings: Rp 103,000,000,000.
• Transportation and machinery: Rp 1,400,000,000.
• Other movable assets: Rp 3,665,000,000.
• Securities: Rp 82,650,036,490.
• Cash and cash equivalents: Rp 27,864,362,410.
• Other assets: -
• Debt: Rp 10,335,595,721.

In his Wealth Report, Budi Gunadi admitted to having six areas of land and/or buildings claimed from his own efforts. These property assets are scattered in South Jakarta, Bekasi, and Bandung, with varying sizes ranging from 50 to 582 square meters.

Budi Gunadi Sadikin also has four four-wheeled vehicles claimed from his own efforts. His transportation collection consists of a Mercedes Benz E 300 Sedan (2012) worth Rp 350 million, Mini Cooper Sedan (2012) worth Rp 250 million, Mazda 2 All New Skyactiv R AT (2015) worth Rp 100 million, and Hyundai Ioniq 5 Signtr Long (2023) worth Rp 700 million.

Dede Leni Mardianti contributed to this article.

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