The collective wealth of the 50 tycoons slipped to US$133 billion from $134.6 billion the year before, according to Forbes. This year’s figure is more than 48 percent of the country’s gross domestic product and about 72 percent of the state budget for next year.

“More than half of the tycoons saw their fortunes decline from a year ago amid the pandemic,” Forbes wrote in a statement on Dec. 10, noting that their collective wealth was down only 1.2 percent from last year’s figure.

Two consecutive contractions in the second and third quarters, 5.32 percent and 3.49 percent respectively, have pulled Indonesia into recession.

As of August, 2.67 million people had lost their jobs, bringing the unemployment rate to 7.07 percent, the highest level since 2011, Statistics Indonesia (BPS) data shows. Some 1.63 million Indonesians fell into poverty in March, raising the poverty rate to 9.78 percent – 26.4 million people – from 9.22 percent in September 2019. This number is expected to increase as the pandemic wears on.

The situation has exacerbated the wealth gap between the rich and the rest of society. The country’s Gini coefficient, a measure of wealth inequality, was 0.381 in March, up from 0.380 last year.

The richest 1 percent of Indonesians hold 45 percent of the country's total household wealth, a high figure by international standards, according to the 2019 Global Wealth Report by Credit Suisse.

“The health crisis has exacerbated social inequality because its adverse impact has been especially felt by the lower-middle class working informally,” the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef) executive director Tauhid Ahmad told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

The government, he said, should take a more active role in reducing inequality by extending social protection programs into 2021 and creating more jobs.

“The government should pursue job creation in labor-intensive infrastructure projects, improve aid for micro and small businesses and improve the social protection system in the long run,” he said.

The state has allocated Rp 408 trillion (US$30 billion) for social protection programs next year, as well as Rp 169.7 trillion for health care and Rp 550 trillion for education. It also set aside Rp 128.92 trillion for social aid through the national economic recovery (PEN) program this year. Some 87 percent of the fund had been spent as of Nov. 3.

The government should seek opportunities to tax the country’s richest people further, University of Indonesia economist Didik Rachbini said, especially those who saw their wealth soar during the pandemic, to redistribute income and reduce inequality.

“The tax office should look at the possibility of imposing inheritance tax or even wealth tax to compensate for higher debt and inequality because of the pandemic,” he said on Friday.

Several tycoons on the list managed to book increases in their wealth despite the pandemic.

Prominent businessmen Robert Budi and Michael Hartono, who own Djarum Group and derive more than 80 percent of their wealth from investment in the country’s largest private bank by asset value, Bank Central Asia (BCA), have once again topped the list with a net worth of $38.8 billion, higher than last year’s $37.3 billion.

Meanwhile, the Widjaja family, which owns diversified conglomerate Sinar Mas, added $2.3 billion to their wealth this year for a total of $11.9 billion, retaking their position as the country’s second-richest family.

Businessman Anthoni Salim, who owns the Salim Group, saw his wealth grow to $5.9 billion from $5.5 billion last year. He remains the fourth-richest person in the country.

Media tycoon Eddy Kusnadi Sariaatmadja saw his wealth jump 80 percent to $1.4 billion as shares of media company PT Elang Mahkota Teknologi (Emtek) soared during the pandemic. The wealth of herbal medicine company PT Industri Jamu Dan Farmasi Sido Muncul owner Irwan Hidayat rose by 41 percent this year to $1.55 billion as the pandemic led to a boom in herbal product use.

Several of the nation’s richest people, however, have been hard hit by the pandemic.

Petrochemical company Barito Pacific Group founder and owner Prajogo Pangestu saw his wealth drop by 21 percent to $6 billion, but he retained his position as the third-richest person in the country.

The owners of airline company Lion Air Group, Kusnan and Rusdi Kirana, fell off the list of Indonesia’s 50 richest people as airlines suffered from pandemic travel restrictions.

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