Six newcomers on Thailand Rich List

According to Forbes magazine, the newcomers include Sathien Setthasit, who is ranked No 47 with the net worth of US$475 million. He is the co-founder of energy drinks producer Carabao Group. Others are Chatchai Kaewbootta (No 34, $690 million) of Srisawad Power 1979, which offers microloans mainly against cars and motorcycles; Chuchat & Daonapa Petaumpai (No. 31, $805 million) of finance firm, Muangthai Leasing; Harald Link (No 41, $580 million) of Thai conglomerate B. Grimm Group; Supaluck Umpujh (No 42, $560 million) of the Mall Group; and renewable energy tycoon Gunkul Dhumrongpiyawut (No 44, $525 million).

This year, the minimum net worth to make the list is $425 million, up from $305 million a year ago, the magazine said.

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

This year, Dhanin becomes Thailand's richest man on Forbes’ latest Thailand Rich List, with a net worth of US$14.4 billion.

He reclaims the top spot of the country’s 50 richest, after slipping to No 2 a year ago. His fortune, which he shares with three brothers, grew by $2.9 billion, thanks to rising shares of Chinese insurer Ping An Insurance.

According to Forbes, Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi also moved up one spot to second place with a net worth of $13 billion. Charoen’s Thai Beverage, maker of Chang beer, reported double-digit increases in revenues and profits in a recent quarter. The spirits tycoon aims to double ThaiBev’s revenue to $10 billion by 2020, of which half would be from overseas markets.

The Chirathivat retailing clan, last year’s No 1, dropped to No 3 this year, partly due to a fall in shares of their departmental store developer, Central Pattana. The family’s net worth of $12.3 billion is down from $12.7 billion a year ago. Amid an ongoing regional expansion, their Central Retail group recently acquired 49 per cent in Nguyen Kim, an electronics retailer in Vietnam. Central is also building a shopping mall in Malaysia’s Selangor region.