Luhut was born on 28 September 1947 in Simargala, a small hamlet in Toba, North Sumatra, as the eldest child and only son of the five children.

[1] His father, Bonar Pandjaitan (died 1982), was a retired soldier who became a Sibualbuali bus driver and executive of Caltex Petroleum Corp in Indonesia and was sent to Cornell University in the United States.

Luhut became a keen swimmer, practicing in the Siak River, and represented Riau at a national sports event in 1962.

[7] Also in Bandung, he became one of the founders of the Indonesian Student Action Front (KAPI) and protested against founding President Sukarno's Old Order and the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI).

He then ordered his men to shoot at the legs of the rioters, and he suspected several were killed in the ensuing chaos as troops were not equipped with rubber bullets.

His men chased the rioters to Jalan Juanda, to Glodok, and on to the Kramat Tunggak brothel complex in North Jakarta, where Luhut arrested human rights activist Johannes Cornelis Princen.

After undergoing training at GSG 9 in West Germany with Prabowo Subianto for 22 weeks in 1981, Luhut in June 1982 established the Kopassus Anti-Terrorism Detachment 81.

[13] According to Hendro Subroto's biography of Lieutenant General Sintong Panjaitan, Perjalanan Seorang Prajurit Para Komando (published 2009), Prabowo in March 1983 put Detachment 81 forces on alert because he feared military chief Benny Moerdani and other generals were planning a coup against Suharto.

[17] In July 2019, Luhut posted on his Facebook page that as a consequence of having been Benny's golden boy, he was overlooked for promotion to Kopassus chief and Military Area Commander, but that was the price that "must be paid as a result of upright loyalty.

Following the fall of Suharto in May 1998, The Wall Street Journal reported in January 1999 that Luhut is "highly regarded... untainted by allegations of widespread Suharto-era corruption, or human rights abuses".

The report noted that Luhut could be a candidate for armed forces chief except that he is a Christian at a time when political Islam was rising after decades of repression.

[9] According to retired general Kivlan Zen, the relationship between Luhut and Prabowo improved after both had left the military and entered business, as both were involved in PT Kiani Kertas, an East Kalimantan pulp producer that once belonged to Suharto crony Bob Hasan.

[20] In 1999, President BJ Habibie appointed Luhut as Indonesian ambassador to Singapore and he was credited with improving relations between the two countries.

[23] After his first stint as a minister, Luhut decided to run for the chairmanship of the National Sports Committee of Indonesia in 2003 but lost to fellow retired general Agum Gumelar.

[29] On 13 March 2020, Luhut was appointed acting minister of transportation to replace Budi Karya Sumadi, who had tested positive for a novel coronavirus.

[31] In May 2019, following post-election riots in Jakarta by supporters of losing candidate Prabowo Subianto, police said they uncovered a plot to assassinate four senior officials, including Luhut.

In January 1999, he expressed concern to the Wall Street Journal over the politicization of religion in Indonesia following the Suharto's resignation, saying: "I'm shocked at how it's being turned into a political tool by some people.

[37] In President Widodo's first cabinet, Luhut opposed then-Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti's ban on the use of trawl nets, as well as her policy of sinking foreign fishing boats caught operating illegally in Indonesian waters.

[41] Luhut established the Luhur Bakti Pertiwi Foundation to help produce young leaders with integrity.

[46] In April 2019, London-based environmental watchdog Global Witness reported that Highland Strategic Holdings' shares were held by Watiga Trust and suggested the buyers were shell companies, and questioned who are the real owners.

PT Pusaka Jaya Palu Tower has been engaged in the electricity sector since 2007 and built a private steam-power plant.

Luhut married Devi Simatupang on 27 November 1970 and has had a four children: Paulina, David, Paulus and Kerri Pandjaitan.

[52] Luhut's son-in-law, General Maruli Simanjuntak, a Kopassus officer, in November 2023 became Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Army.

[53] Luhut has a strained relationship with his father, Bonar, because he doesn't want to study at Bandung Institute of Technology and rather choose Indonesian Military Academy.