Cheong Fatt Tze, ±i´]¤h (1840-1916) was a famous Chinese tycoon in South East Asia.
According to Wikipedia, he was born in Guangdong Province, China. Cheong Fatt Tze started his career in Indonesia as a shopkeeper when he was 18 years old.
As same as many Chinese in South East Asia, he was hard working and accumulated wealth to start his business. No doubt that he was a successful businessman in Trading.
His merchandises included tea, coffee, rubber as well as the most important one, opium. In 19th Century, his wealth was about 80 million tael (1 teal = 40 grams) silver which equal to the annual national revenue of Qing Dynasty, China.
Cheong Fatt Tze was not just a tycoon but also he was appointed the Chinese Consul, based in Penang in 1890. Cheong Fatt Tze died in Indonesia in 1916.