Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra lamented on Tuesday that entering politics had eaten into his wealth, leaving him much poorer, without denying his extreme wealth.
Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra sits at a cafe in Dubai last year. (Photo by Soonruth Bunyamanee)
Thaksin claimed on his Facebook page that in 1994 (when he was still foreign minister) his wealth was equal to Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim, who at the time was estimated to have combined cash and assets worth US$2.2 billion.
He said both of them were running telecommunications businesses in their respective countries.
Thaksin complained that he and Mr Slim went in different directions. He decided to enter politics as foreign minister under the Palang Dharma Party in the coalition government, while the Mexican continued expanding his business to other countries.
"Now he is in the top five (of the world's richest) but I am trapped by politics and poorer because the assets that I had accumulated were frozen," he said.
Thaksin, who posted the message from New York, said he did not regret anything. He could not turn back the clock and was "proud" of making the lives of people better.
Asian Pacific News said on its website on Monday that Thaksin flew to the US capital from New York on a private jet and stayed at the Fairmont Hotel, a very expensive establishment.
About 30 Thais protested against his trip to Washington DC in front of the hotel on Monday night, the Thai weekly newspaper reported.
Thaksin’s assets worth 46 billion baht were ordered frozen by the Assets Scrutiny Committee in 2007 in relation to the sale of Shin Corp shares to Temasek Holdings of Singapore.