CP's Dhanin still the richest | Bangkok Post: breakingnews

CP's Dhanin still the richest

Published: 30 Aug 2012 at 09.04
Online news:

Dhanin Chearavanont has retained his status as Thailand's richest man for the third year with an estimated net worth of US$9 billion (281.9 billion baht) in Forbes magazine's 2012 "Thailand 40 Richest" ranking.

The collective wealth of the 40 richest residents of Thailand was up by more than 20% for a second straight year. This growth is giving some of the country's super-rich the wherewithal to seek expansion in Southeast Asia and beyond, wrote Forbes contributor Tatiana Serafin.

Mr Dhanin, 73, is the chairman of Charoen Pokphand Group, an agribusiness, retail and telecoms conglomerate that is also the oldest and largest foreign investor in China.

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spiceman
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Discussion 10 : 31 Aug 2012 at 07.2210
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Khun Aussie John #8, I am sure you've heard of the term "Economy of Scale," implying that efficiency tends to rise with growing volume of production. So, this is hardly a secret, however, I want to see more competitors competing with CP, because when a business become too dominant, it tends to practice monopolistic or predatory pricing (rip-off), at the expense of consumers.
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kena
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Discussion 9 : 31 Aug 2012 at 06.409
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perhaps he's one of the super rich Chinese-Thais who own vast tracts of property in my area, where they pay zero taxes per year. Also in my area: tens of thousands of Thai hill tribers who are can't afford to send their kids to school.
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Aussie John
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Discussion 8 : 31 Aug 2012 at 05.008
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How ironic that Thailand's richest man has made a huge slice of his wealth from the very business most struggle to survive from. This is a fine example how real disparity works in Thailand.
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lookmoo
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Discussion 7 : 31 Aug 2012 at 03.087
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Trust me this man runs the country..
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spiceman
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Discussion 6 : 31 Aug 2012 at 02.366
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It doesn't matter how successful and wealthy a person has become. What matters is how much that person contributes to society after meeting the need of his or her own family, especially, for the cause of fighting poverty. That's why I respect Bill Gates and Warren Buffett so much, who each has given away 3/4 of his enormous wealth to charity. However, it still remains to be seen whether any of their Thai counterparts would follow suit.
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blob123
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Discussion 5 : 31 Aug 2012 at 01.015
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Since this person gets a substantial money from his income on 7/11 licenses may I suggest to him to start a campaign to CLEAN the environs around every 7/11 store since most of this shops are within a pile of junk the people just leave behind. Since he or his responsible managers must know that unless they are far below average the question is? Is this guy a scrapper who makes his money on the trash yard? I see every day the school children in Phuket navigate around the trash, may I ask where does this gentlemen bring his kids to school, did they EVER hear about social responsibility?
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Lazarisbk
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Discussion 4 : 30 Aug 2012 at 22.204
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franklin Discussion 2 Good post.
There used to be a construction company in Bangkok called K-Tech, Farang owned. As payment to authorities to get building approvals rushed through, they always built schools and medical centres in whatever region their projects were. The owners got got great satisfaction doing this knowing the people would get some benefit from it. They also contributed a lot to medical research here and in Europe.
As a Thai Dhanin Chearavanont should also be doing this but sadly he doesn't. It's all take take take.
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abbub
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Discussion 3 : 30 Aug 2012 at 22.113
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9 billion dollars.

An average worker in Thailand earns what, about 12,000 a month? "Maybe". At best!

If a Thai worker had not rent to pay, no food to pay, no clothing nor medical expenses. How long would it take that worker to save 9 billion dollars?

That averages about $4,500 a year; $45,000 in ten years. Calculating like this the average "well paid" worker in Thailand would have to work:

Two...million...years!!!nYes, that is right: 2,000,000,000 Years.

And some say this society is "fair" and complain about poor farmers trying to get enough to send their kids to school instead of sweat shops and the fields in their early teens.
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franklin
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Discussion 2 : 30 Aug 2012 at 21.082
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So the Thai wealthy have become even more wealthy while at the same time the majority Thai poor have become even poorer. 'Some at the top are wealthy enough to seek more acquisitions beyond Asia'. This is nothing to be impressed by or proud of! The wealth of these few has no positive benefit for the country as a whole. What have they done philanthropically for their Mother Country, Thailand, it's people and its future? I’m not talking about building yet another ‘wat’ for the poor to support through monetary merit making but foundations for schools and modern-method educational improvements to insure Thailand can prepare it’s people to meet the future successfully. How about contributing ideas or financial support for nation building and infrastructure modernization? Being ludicrously wealthy is grotesque if it doesn’t somehow help those, certainly one’s own countrymen, who are struggling to improve their lot for the present and future. Where’s the brotherhood?
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Renaissance
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Discussion 1 : 30 Aug 2012 at 19.161
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Possibly the Boss is richer, but he doesn't want anyone to know.

For me the insane aspect of such huge wealth is that they cannot find the time to sit back, relax, and enjoy the money. They seem to carry on trying to amass even more wealth. What for?
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