Thailand’s richest minus one

Forbes has published its annual rich list for Thailand. It notes that Thailand’s stock exchange has been one of the world’s best performing over the past year and the baht has appreciated, adding to the wealth in dollar terms for many of the already fabulously rich. For all of the political conflict, Forbes says:

Collectively the wealth of the richest 40 advanced 25% to an aggregate $45 billion. Their asset growth is helping these industrialists ramp up investments in operations abroad like never before. The wealth of three-quarters of those on the list rose.

The top ten on the Forbes list are as follows:

#1 Dhanin Chearavanont, Net Worth $7,400 mil

#2 Chaleo Yoovidhya, Net Worth $5,000 mil

#3 Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, Net Worth $4,800 mil

#4 Chirathivat family, Net Worth $4,300mil

#5 Krit Ratanarak & family, Net Worth $2,500 mil

#6 Aloke Lohia, Net Worth $2,100 mil

#7 Chamnong Bhirombhakdi, Net Worth $2,000 mil

#8 Vichai Maleenont, Net Worth $1,500 mil

#9 Isara Vongkusolkit & family, Net Worth $1,400 mil

#10 Praneetsilpa Vacharaphol & family, Net Worth $1,050 mil

Of the top three, Forbes says this:

Dhanin Chearavanont, who owns agribusiness conglomerate, Charoen Pokphand Group, remains in the top spot at $7.4 billion. In second place is the $5 billion fortune of Chaleo Yoovidhya, co-owner of Red Bull energy drinks, closely followed by the $4.8 billion of whiskey king Charoen Sirivadhanbhakdi. The top three have seen their net worths swell over the past year as consumers buy up their wares.

Thaksin Shinawatra has not been left behind either, although he ranks much lower than he would have a decade ago:

… Thaksin Shinawatra (No. 19), rose 53% to $600 million, thanks to a stock split and doubling of share price of his family’s real estate development firm, SC Asset.

One of Thaksin’s enemies, Prachai Leophairatana, is said to be a phoenix story:

rising from the ashes of Asia’s 1997 financial conflagration. Prachai Leophairatana, the former billionaire once known as Thailand’s biggest defaulter, with $3.8 billion in bad loans at his defunct Thai Petrochemical Industries group, is on the rebound. Shares of the remaining part of his empire, cement maker TPI Polene hit a three-year high in August, putting this controversial tycoon on the list at No. 29, with $300 million.

As usual, Thailand’s richest family, the royal family, is not on the list. Forbes usually includes the king at the top of its world’s richest royals each year.

Even so, there are plenty of royalists in the list. The top four are all known to be generous supporters of royal galas and other pet projects and Prachai was long seen as a funder of anti-Thaksin yellow shirt rallies, led by the People’s Alliance for Democracy.