His accomplishments on the gaming table may have distracted from Michael Sampoerna’s work, but his corporate leadership earned the respect of his legendary father, Putera Sampoerna, and business peers. In the years since assuming a senior role in the family business, the younger Sampoerna has diversified the kretek (clove) cigarette titans’ investments to include infrastructure, agriculture and property development.

As if all that were not enough, Sampoerna—now President Commissioner—also sits as a board member in the Putera Sampoerna Foundation established by his father. The trust has four key areas of focus: female empowerment, job creation, education and disaster relief. Michael now honours a philanthropic tradition started by the Sampoernas’ ancestor, Liem Seeng Tee, who created a theatre as a public venue for events like movie screenings and weddings.

Just like the theatre, Sampoerna’s work in the Foundation is his way of giving back.