Two Thai families on Forbes list of 'richest families in Asia'
Forbes Asia has this week released the most recent list of the 50 richest families in Asia (2016). It also features two Thai families: Chearavanont and Chirathivat.
The 50 richest Asian families collectively own an astronomical sum of $519 billion. At the top of the list is the South Korean Lee family, the founders of the Samsung concern, with assets of 1.043 billion baht.
The owners of Charoen Pokphand Group (CP Group), the Chearavanont family (see photo), also have a nice amount in their bank account: 976 billion baht. They are second on the list.
Dhanin Chearavanont is the main owner of CP Group, which is also the largest privately held company in Thailand. Among other things, they own the many 7-Eleven stores in Thailand and own companies in the food chain and telecom companies. A few years ago, CP took over all Makro branches in Thailand for 5 billion euros from the Dutch Fentener van Vlissingen family.
The second Thai family on the Forbes list ranks 14th. It concerns the Chirathivat family who owns the Central Group. They own a conglomerate of large shopping malls. The family is worth 486 billion baht. The Central Group is led by CEO Tos Chirathivat.
Well enough money to do something, with these happy boys in the picture, on education, care for the poor, the elderly, health care, and making traffic safer.
Could it possibly happen someday?….
Aren't they Chinese? They have about half of Thailand in their hands and are not so tame!
As with all wealthy families, they have no sense of spending without getting something in return. Only a few will spend their money to support poorer people. In NL you don't see the de Mol family giving a little to poor people, do you? Personally also worked for a very rich Belgian family. Once done my job, they don't know you anymore. As long as they need you, so get something in return, they are pretty normal people. In Thailand, the ratio of rich to poor is very high.
I know the Chearavanont family through Dhanin's right-hand man who is my good friend and get a lot of information from their Charity projects. At the moment they are restoring a 1000 year old Temple including various outbuildings in Changmai, and go there early next year to have a look. Dhanin's life story is a great success story, after he came here 45 years ago penniless from CHina here with his parents came. His son Chris and daughter are also very successful in real estate and hotel projects under the name Mercure (Fortune Hotel) in Bangkok. His daughter is currently building the largest shopping mall in the center of Bangkok, and a very exclusive Condo project on the Chaopraya River. I was recently a guest in their very impressive True building. I also heard from a good source that they are very social towards their staff when they get into trouble. I also wanted to say that because this may also be mentioned.
Hi Colin,
That charity all sounds nice, of course, and is good for PR. For a family with that much money, I'm not impressed. I can tell you some stories about practices that are really unacceptable. And they don't treat their junior staff as they should either.
If it's up to these and other wealthy Thai-Chinese families, they'll buy up the whole country & make sure competitors don't get a chance.
Incidentally, Dhanin's father and uncle came to Thailand from China as early as 1920 and there was already a reasonable size company when Dhanin was born in 1939.
Don't forget that we also own the fishing fleet that treat Burmese as slaves
Have spoken to them about this but this company works for them. I also complained about this to that company and they told me that they were happy with their job
I miss the royal family in the list.
The International Business Times writes on 14-10-2016 that the late king left an estimated wealth of US$ 30 billion (http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/king-bhumibol-adulyadej-death-what-fortune-has-worlds-richest-monarch-left-his-beneficiaries-1586294)
That is about 1.060 billion Bath at today's exchange rate, which means that this family is at the top of the list.
What is in favor of this family, and especially the late king, is that they initiated and financed a series of environmentally friendly development projects for poor Thai people.
It is not so certain whether all that money can be regarded as private money.
Powers of monarchs are often linked to the office and not to the person.
Their share in Siam Cement Group and Siam Commercial Bank alone is estimated by Forbes to be more than US$7 billion. That justifies a 25th place on the Forbes ranking.
And if you put the rental income (80 million US$ in 2010) from land on your own balance sheet, it seems to me that that land (13200 acre = 5340 hectares) is also privately owned.