Wealth of Thailand’s richest got another boost
The new Forbes list of Thailand’s 50 richest persons is out, and – lo and behold – it shows that their collective net worth has reached $123.5 billion, an increase of 16 per cent from the 2016 ranking despite a lackluster economy and macroeconomic uncertainties in the country led by a military government over the past three years.
More than two-thirds of the tycoons on the Forbes Thailand Rich List 2017 saw their wealth increase, with the top five notching in for the biggest gains in dollar terms.
The Chearavanont brothers of the Charoen Pokphand Group added $3 billion to retain their top spot with a fortune of $21.5 billion. Drinks and real estate tycoon Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi of Thai Beverage and property firm TCC Land remains at second rank with a net worth of $15.4 billion. Third comes the Chirathivat family which owns Central Group, the country’s biggest mall developer, with a wealth of $15.3 billion.
Chalerm Yoovidhya and family, co-owner of the Red Bull energy drink, were the second biggest gainers in dollar terms, with their wealth shooting up $2.8 billion to $12.5 billion this year. Duty-free tycoon Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha of King Power added $1.45 billion to his fortune owing to Thailand’s tourism boom and now occupies rank five in the list with a net worth of $4.7 billion.
There are three newcomers on the list, namely poultry producer Winai Teawsomboonkij (rank 35) of Thaifoods Group with $750 million in wealth, Itthipat Peeradechapan (rank 44), owner of Taokaenoi Food & Marketing, a maker of seaweed snacks, with a net worth of $610 million and Nutchamai Thanombooncharoen (rank 46) of Carabao Group, which produces Thailand’s second-most popular energy drink of the same name, with $590 million.
Self-exiled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra saw his wealth growing by $50 million over the past year to $1.7 billion.
However, the richest Thai person is and likely shall remain King Rama X, Maha Vajiralongkorn, with an estimated net worth of more than $30 billion, mainly from real estate and company holdings. This makes the King the world’s richest royal ahead of Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah who is worth over $20 billion and Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi with a wealth of around $15 billion.
The new Forbes list of Thailand's 50 richest persons is out, and - lo and behold - it shows that their collective net worth has reached $123.5 billion, an increase of 16 per cent from the 2016 ranking despite a lackluster economy and macroeconomic uncertainties in the country led by a military government over the past three years. More than two-thirds of the tycoons on the Forbes Thailand Rich List 2017 saw their wealth increase, with the top five notching in for the biggest gains in dollar terms. The Chearavanont brothers of the Charoen Pokphand Group added $3 billion to...
The new Forbes list of Thailand’s 50 richest persons is out, and – lo and behold – it shows that their collective net worth has reached $123.5 billion, an increase of 16 per cent from the 2016 ranking despite a lackluster economy and macroeconomic uncertainties in the country led by a military government over the past three years.
More than two-thirds of the tycoons on the Forbes Thailand Rich List 2017 saw their wealth increase, with the top five notching in for the biggest gains in dollar terms.
The Chearavanont brothers of the Charoen Pokphand Group added $3 billion to retain their top spot with a fortune of $21.5 billion. Drinks and real estate tycoon Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi of Thai Beverage and property firm TCC Land remains at second rank with a net worth of $15.4 billion. Third comes the Chirathivat family which owns Central Group, the country’s biggest mall developer, with a wealth of $15.3 billion.
Chalerm Yoovidhya and family, co-owner of the Red Bull energy drink, were the second biggest gainers in dollar terms, with their wealth shooting up $2.8 billion to $12.5 billion this year. Duty-free tycoon Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha of King Power added $1.45 billion to his fortune owing to Thailand’s tourism boom and now occupies rank five in the list with a net worth of $4.7 billion.
There are three newcomers on the list, namely poultry producer Winai Teawsomboonkij (rank 35) of Thaifoods Group with $750 million in wealth, Itthipat Peeradechapan (rank 44), owner of Taokaenoi Food & Marketing, a maker of seaweed snacks, with a net worth of $610 million and Nutchamai Thanombooncharoen (rank 46) of Carabao Group, which produces Thailand’s second-most popular energy drink of the same name, with $590 million.
Self-exiled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra saw his wealth growing by $50 million over the past year to $1.7 billion.
However, the richest Thai person is and likely shall remain King Rama X, Maha Vajiralongkorn, with an estimated net worth of more than $30 billion, mainly from real estate and company holdings. This makes the King the world’s richest royal ahead of Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah who is worth over $20 billion and Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi with a wealth of around $15 billion.