Putera Sampoerna is the son and heir of the founder of the Sampoerna cigarette company, so was born into wealth. As a result, he was educated abroad, first in Hong Kong, then Melbourne and finally in Texas. He took over the running of the business in 1978, keeping it until 2000, when he handed the reins over to his son Michael, who as well as his business interests is a professional poker player.

In 2005, they sold the cigarette business to Philip Morris International for $2 billion, using the money to found Sampoerna Strategic. This new business has a diversified range of investments including palm oil plantations, real estate, telecommunications and finance.

He and his family have also created and run the Putera Sampoerna Foundation which has four stated goals, namely: quality education for high-achieving, but underprivileged students; job creation through entrepreneurship development programs; public enlightenment through the empowerment of women, and the distribution of aid and relief programs for compassionate and disaster relief.