He received his education from University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in economics.

[2] Founded by his father, Sukanto Tanoto, RGE manages a group of resource-based manufacturing companies operating in Indonesia, China, Brazil, Canada and Europe, with over US$35 billion in assets and a workforce of 70,000 people.

[5] He spends most of his time leading RGE-managed APRIL's operations located in Pangkalan Kerinci, Riau, Indonesia.

[7][8] At COP 21 on 1 December 2015, Tanoto was part of a team that announced APRIL's US$100 million investment in an expanded eco-restoration project in Riau, spanning 150,000 hectares.

[13] Apart from his business interests, Tanoto also works in community development and philanthropy, which was sparked in his youth when his parents frequently brought him and his siblings to Indonesian fields and plantations.