Chalerm Yoovidhya – Red Bull
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Chalerm Yoovidhya in Thailand, Dec. 20, 2012. Photo by Panoramic via Reuters |
Chalerm, 74, heads the Yoovidhya family, which holds a 49% stake in energy drink maker Red Bull.
The business was founded by his late father, Chaleo Yoovidhya, who rose from poverty to riches after launching the brand. Chaleo later teamed up with Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz to take Red Bull global. Both invested US$500,000 and each took a 49% stake.
The remaining 2% was given to Chalerm, who in May transferred it to Geneva-based trust company Fides Trustees, according to Bloomberg.
The family’s fortune surged to a record $44.5 billion as Red Bull’s annual revenue climbed to around $12.9 billion in 2024 after selling nearly 13 billion cans globally.
Chearavanont brothers – Charoen Pokphand Group
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Dhanin Chearavanont gestures upon arrival at a Thailand-China Business Council seminar in Bangkok, March 15, 2013. Photo by Reuters |
The wealth of the Chearavanont brothers, led by 86-year-old Dhanin Chearavanont, stems from agribusiness behemoth Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group, which they co-own.
CP began as a small seed shop in Bangkok founded in the 1920s by their father, Chia Ek Chor, and his brother. Today, it ranks among the world’s top producers of animal feed and livestock, while also spanning sectors such as e-commerce, finance, healthcare, real estate, telecommunications, and automotive.
More recently, the conglomerate has been pushing into digital and regional markets. In June, its fintech unit, Ascend Money, received approval to launch a virtual bank, opening new opportunities to tap into its digital wallet platform TrueMoney, which serves 34 million users nationwide.
The brothers’ combined net worth went up by 23% from last year to an estimated $35.7 billion.
Sarath Ratanavadi – Gulf Energy Development
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Sarath Ratanavadi, CEO of Gulf Energy Development. Photo courtesy of the company |
Sarath Ratanavadi, 59, is the CEO of energy giant Gulf Energy Development, which he founded in 2007, according to Forbes.
In a major corporate move this April, he completed the merger of Gulf Energy with Intouch Holdings, which holds the largest stake in the country’s second-largest mobile operator Advanced Info Service.
The combined entity, now known as Gulf Development, debuted on the Thai stock exchange with a market valuation of 640 billion baht (US$20 billion), making it the country’s fourth most valuable listed firm.
Ratanavadi’s fortune jumped 30% over the past year to a record $12 billion, moving him up two places on the rich list.
Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi – TCC Group
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Thai Beverage’s Chairman Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi speaks during a news conference at the Singapore Exchange in Singapore, May 30, 2006. Photo by Reuters |
The TCC beer and property empire began in 1961 when Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, now 81, took over a liquor company he had once worked at.
Over the next six decades, he and his wife, who passed away in 2023, grew the business into a vast conglomerate with interests spanning food and beverages, insurance and finance, industrial and trading, agriculture, and property. His business empire includes Thailand’s largest drinks maker Thai Beverage.
In May, he transferred his stakes in a privately held company to his children. That firm indirectly controls three key businesses within the group—Berli Jucker, Asset World Corp, and Thai Group Holdings.
The move is seen as part of a long-term succession plan orchestrated by Charoen, who has recently begun relinquishing leadership roles across various companies within the conglomerate, according to Thai newspaper The Nation.
The family fortune, estimated at $10.5 billion, saw little change over the past year.
Chirathivat family – Central Group
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Tos Chirathivat, executive chairman and CEO of Central Group. Photo courtesy of the company |
The Chirathivat family oversees Central Group, which started as a small mom-and-pop store in Bangkok launched by the late Tiang Chirathivat and later grew into Thailand’s largest mall operator by net leasable area.
Their net worth declined 13% over the past year to $8.6 billion, reflecting softer consumer sentiment in the retail sector.
In October, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund purchased a 40% stake in the U.K.’s iconic Selfridges group from Signa, while Central Group retained the remaining 60%, according to the Bangkok Post.
Looking ahead, Central Retail Corporation, the group’s core retail arm, has recently allocated up to 47 billion baht for store expansions and upgrades in Thailand and Vietnam as part of its push to drive earnings growth.
