Thailands 40 Richest Persons & Families
Thailand's 40 Richest Persons & Families
Suzanne Nam 07.09.08, 11:00 PM ET
Despite political and economic uncertainties, Thailand's 40 richest people have proved to be a stable lot. Perhaps because the list is dominated by businesses established decades ago, or perhaps because the same families have run the enterprises for so long, there has been little change. All 40 appeared on the list in 2007 or 2006, or have taken the spots of relatives who previously appeared.
The full list of Thailand’s richest is available in Forbes’ web site listed above. Chaleo Yoovidhya of Red Bull beverage fame, worth $4 billion, returns to his No 1. spot--up $500 million, thanks to strong global sales of his Red Bull energy drink.
His runner-up again is Beer Chang owner Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, up $600 million. They are two of eight tycoons who made most of their fortune in food and beverages, more than any other industry (auto parts had six).
The Chirathivat clan, owners of Central Pattana and Central Department Stores, as a group, came in third.
Thaksin Shinawatra, the darling of many a blogger here at The Nation Weblog, was ranked 16th among the nation's richest. But of course, it is understandable that Forbes editors have no access to information on his hidden wealth since he does not declare them and do not pay taxes on his vast income. If these were known and counted, he could very well be much richer than Chaleo.
Combining family fortunes helped boost the top 40's total worth to $25 billion, up $6 billion. It also allowed for more entries and helped cut the minimum net worth by $44 million, to $65 million. Forbes used the Stock Exchange of Thailand data and its Ministry of Commerce for much of the shareholding information. They estimated the worth of private companies by figuring out what they could be worth if public. Fortunes were calculated using June 26 prices and exchange rates.
It is interesting to note that the combined wealth of the top 40 richest persons or families in Thailand was well behind the wealth of one single rich man in Hong Kong, Li Ka-shing. This kind of summarize how pathetic the country is, which is reflected in the wealth of the country and its people.
Thailand has well over 60 million population while Hong Kong has over 6 million people, even less than Bangkok. Thailand also has so much more natural resources and so much more land than Hong Kong. Thailand has "democracy" while Hong Kong does not have democracy at all. How come Thailand is so much behind Hong Kong in terms of national development and economic well being?
Go figure before screaming bloody democracy. Democracy must survive in Thailand but the country can be allowed to go bankrupt, robbed blind by all the "democratically-elected" pirates masquerading as TRT and PPP politicians. I rest my case.
-- Dalmasian
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