Red Bull family Thailand’s richest for third straight year

Familiar names in top five of Forbes list, with Gulf chief Sarath Ratanavadi making biggest gain

The Yoovidhya family of Red Bull fame have retained the top spot as the richest in Thailand for the third consecutive year with a net worth of $47 billion, followed by the CP Group’s Chearavanont brothers with $36.6 billion, according to Forbes magazine.

The combined wealth of Thailand’s richest tycoons on the 2026 Forbes list has expanded 10% to $187 billion from $170.5 billion, boosted by a surging market, the magazine said on Thursday.

The wealth of Chalerm Yoovidhya and his family increased by $2.5 billion from 2025. The 6% increase was fuelled by annual revenue that rose more than 8% to $13.9 billion on worldwide sales of nearly 14 billion cans of the energy drink first developed by Mr Chalerm’s late father Chaleo in 1976.

Chalerm Yoovidhya and his family have a net worth of $47 billion (1.6 trillion baht), according to Forbes magazine. (Bangkok Post file photo)

The second-ranked Chearavanont brothers saw their net worth increase by $900 million (2.5%) from $35.7 billion last year, when they also came second.

They were followed by the energy and telecoms tycoon Sarath Ratanavadi, whose wealth soared by $5.6 billion to $17.6 billion thanks to the continued strong performance of Gulf Development Plc. He was also in third place last year after climbing from fifth the year before.

The Chirathivat family, who derive most of their wealth from Central department stores and malls, rose one spot to fourth place with their net worth rising more than a third to $11.7 billion.

The 82-year-old beverage and real estate tycoon Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi was fifth, with his wealth up 10% to $11.5 billion, partly driven by a portfolio revamp of his real estate business under Singapore-listed Frasers Property, Forbes noted.

Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra fell four spots from last year to 14th position with $1.8 billion.

Among other big gainers was Jareeporn Jarukornsakul, at 28th, cofounder and group CEO of WHA, an industrial estate, warehouse and logistics firm. Her net worth surged 69% to $1.25 billion as booming demand for AI data centres drew foreign investors to Thailand.

Two returnees this year included Bancha Ongkosit (46th place, $653 million), founder of the printed circuit board maker KCE Electronics, which benefited from buoyant demand for AI-related hardware.

The other is Gunkul Dhumrongpiyawut (41st place, $750 million), the founder of SET-listed Gunkul Engineering, who got a boost from the renewable energy producer’s push into supplying green power to data centres.

Three longtime members of the list have died, but their fortunes have passed on their successors, including media baron Krit Ratanarak of Bangkok Broadcasting and TV; Prasert Prasarttong-Osoth, cofounder of the hospital chain Bangkok Dusit Medical Services; and Chuchat Patcharachai, who cofounded the microlender Muangthai Capital.

The minimum net worth to qualify rose to $555 million, from $420 million last year.

The full list can be seen here