This story is part of Forbes’ coverage of Thailand’s Richest 2023. See the full list here.
Buoyed by the return of tourists, Thailand’s economy is estimated by the Bank of Thailand to grow 3.6% this year. The May national election resulted in a surprising win for the progressive Move Forward Party, popular with young Thais. But at press time, it wasn’t clear if the party’s Harvard-educated leader Pita Limjaroenrat could parlay his win into becoming prime minister. Amid this uncertainty, the combined wealth of Thailand’s 50 richest was up nearly 15% to $173 billion.
The Chearavanont brothers of the Charoen Pokphand group, who earlier this year completed the merger between their group’s telecom unit True and rival Total Access Communications, clocked the biggest gain in dollar terms to remain at No. 1. Their wealth, shared by three brothers, Dhanin, Sumet, Jaran and the family of the late Montri, who died last August, is up $7.5 billion to a record $34 billion.
Another bumper year for Red Bull, which sold 11.6 billion cans worldwide and notched up revenue of over $10 billion in 2022, ensured that Chalerm Yoovidhya remained in second place with $33.4 billion. The energy drinks tycoon added $7 billion to his wealth, which he shares with his sprawling family. (Red Bull cofounder Austrian billionaire Dietrich Mateschitz, who along with Chalerm’s late father Chaleo, created the iconic drink, died last October at age 78.)
Overall, 21 fortunes were up from a year ago. A couple of the biggest gainers in percentage terms benefited from the return of foreign shoppers: Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, whose family owns duty-free operator King Power International, more than doubled his net worth to $3.5 billion to reclaim a spot in the top ten and appears at No. 8. The fortune of Supaluck Umpujh, who runs her family’s retailing empire The Mall Group, which owns a string of popular malls such as Siam Paragon and EmQuartier, doubled to $2 billion.
The retailing rebound propelled one of two newcomers to the list. Pradit Phataraprasit, the country’s former deputy finance minister, whose family has a stake in The Mall Group, as well as other businesses, makes his debut at No. 27 with $1.4 billion. The other newcomer Anan Ruckariyapong, founder of listed beverage firm Sappe (No. 50, $590 million), started out five decades ago selling Thai-style candied peanuts and cookies named after his daughter Piyajit, who now runs the company as CEO.
Stock market debuts of their companies benefited two people on the list: The fortune of insurance veteran Vanich Chaiyawan, whose 81-year-old firm Thai Life Insurance listed last year in what was the country’s largest IPO in 2022, was up 30% to $3.9 billion. Chaivat Taepaisitphongse returned to the ranks after a two-year gap, following last October’s IPO of his food conglomerate Betagro.
Overall, 22 listees saw their wealth decline. Paints magnate Prachak Tangkaravakoon’s net worth was down nearly 30%, the most in percentage terms, due to problems engulfing wire and cable maker Stark, in which his son Vonnarat has a stake. Stark’s shares collapsed and it was suspended after it failed to file its earnings with the stock exchange within the deadline.
Despite the cut-off falling to $590 million from $655 million, five from last year dropped off.
Editing assistance and reporting by Anuradha Raghunathan.
Reporting by Gloria Haraito and Phisanu Phromchanya.
Full Coverage of Thailand’s 50 Richest 2023:
Methodology:
This list was compiled using shareholding and financial information obtained from the families and individuals, stock exchanges and analysts, the Stock Exchange of Thailand and regulatory agencies. Unlike our billionaire rankings, this list encompasses family fortunes, including those shared among extended families of multiple generations. Public fortunes were calculated based on stock prices and exchange rates as on June 16. Private companies were valued based on comparisons with similar companies that are publicly traded. The list can also include foreign citizens with business, residential or other ties to the country, or citizens who don’t reside in the country but have significant business or other ties to the country. The editors reserve the right to amend any information or remove any listees in light of new information.