Chearavanonts extend lead on Forbes Thailand Rich List

Chearavanonts extend lead on Forbes Thailand Rich List

Weak stock market, baht take toll on many millionaires

This November 2014 file photo shows Dhanin Chearavanont of CP Group at a rare press conference at CP Building in Silom Road.
This November 2014 file photo shows Dhanin Chearavanont of CP Group at a rare press conference at CP Building in Silom Road.

The Chearavanont brothers, who control Charoen Pokphand Group, took the top spot in Forbes Thailand’s list of the country’s richest citizens with a combined net worth of US$18.5 billion.

Dhanin, Sumet, Montri and Jaran Chearavanont were also the biggest gainers on this year's list, seeing their wealth rise by $4.1 billion, partly due to new information on their private holdings as well as the CP Group's agribusiness ventures.

Coming in second was Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, chairman of Thai Beverage, at a net worth of $13.7 billion, followed by the Central Group's Chirathivat family, with net worth of $13 billion, up from $12.3 billion a year ago.

Like CP and Mr Charoen, Central has been on a buying binge. Along with its Vietnamese partner, electronics retailer Nguyen Kim, Central bought France's Groupe Casino's stake in hypermarket chain Big C Supercenter Vietnam for $1.1 billion. It also purchased the Thai operations of Rocket Internet-backed fashion site Zalora.

The 10 richest in Thailand and their net worths

  1. Chearavanont brothers; $18.5 billion
  2. Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi; $13.7 billion
  3. Chirathivat family; $13 billion
  4. Chalerm Yoovidhya; $9.7 billion
  5. Vanich Chaiyawan; $4 billion
  6. Krit Ratanarak; $3.3 billion
  7. Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha; $3.25 billion
  8. Prasert Prasarttong-Osoth; $3.2 billion
  9. Santi Bhirombhakdi; $2.4 billion
  10. Thaksin Shinawatra; $1.65 billion

Mr Charoen this past year pushed through a $711 million purchase of the Vietnamese unit of German cash-and-carry firm Metro and also nabbed a 59% stake in Big C Thailand for $3.3 billion through his listed retail unit Berli Jucker. Mr Charoen cemented his control of Big C Thailand by acquiring a further 25% stake from the Chirathivats.

While Thailand's three richest families continued to rake in the baht, the falling stock market -- down 8% in the past year - and weaker baht took their toll. More than half of the 45 returnees to the Forbes list saw their fortunes shrink. Media tycoons suffered from a drop in advertising revenues, including Krit Ratanarak -- No.6 on this year's list at $3.3 billion -- and Surang Prempree, managing director of Bangkok Broadcasting & TV, who came in No.30 with net worth of $725 million.

Bucking the trend, duty-free tycoon Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha saw his net worth get a 30% boost to $3.25 billion, putting him in seventh place, due to record tourist arrivals in 2015. His football club, Leicester City, also made sporting history by winning the English Premier League Championship.

The Forbes Thailand Rich List saw five newcomers this year: the Viriyahbhun family behind the country's biggest non-life insurer, Viriyah Insurance (No.28, $850 million); Eastern Polymer Group's Pawat Vitoorapakorn (No.31, $715 million), Kumpol Plussind, a medical doctor who built hospital and clinic chain Chularat Hospital (No.39, $565 million); KCE Electronics founder Bancha Ongkosit (No.46, $495 million) and Joon Wanavit of Hatari Electric, which sells eight million domestic and industrial fans annually (No. 49, $415 million).

The minimum net worth to make the list this year is $400 million, down from $425 million a year ago.

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 Forbes' billionaire rankings, the Rich 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 of May 20. Private companies were valued based on comparisons with similar companies that are publicly traded.

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