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International visitors who have been vaccinated are allowed to visit Phuket, Thailand, beginning July 1… [+], without having to go through quarantine, but they must be tested for COVID-19 at the airport.
Sakchai Lalit/AP Photo
Forbes’ coverage of Thailand’s Richest 2021 includes this story. The complete list may be seen here. Thailand’s economy contracted 6.1 percent in 2020, the largest dip in more than two decades, as tourism stagnated last year. Despite an unexpected increase in Covid-19 cases this year, the government has promised to reopen the vacation destination to vaccinated foreign visitors by October, beginning with Phuket in July. The benchmark stock index has risen 43 percent since fortunes were last evaluated 15 months ago, boosted by the likelihood of a rebound and an increase in exports. The aggregate wealth of the kingdom’s wealthiest people increased by more than a fifth to $160 billion as a result of this surge.

Chalerm Yoovidhya in the paddock before the Santander British Grand Prix at Silverstone Circuit in 2010,… [+] Northampton
Getty Images/David Davies/PA Images

The top five, whose net worth gains accounted for over half of the total, stayed in the same rank. The Chearavanont brothers of Charoen Pokphand Group were ranked first, with a net worth of $30.2 billion after adding $2.9 billion to their fortune. Chalerm Yoovidhya, who owns a $24.5 billion Red Bull fortune with his family, was the greatest dollar gainer this year and remained the second richest person.
Sarath Ratanavadi, the energy tycoon who made waves in April with an audacious $17 billion bid for Intouch Holdings and its cellular subsidiary Advanced Info Services, Thailand’s largest mobile operator by revenue, was another beneficiary (he has yet to complete the deal). His net worth had increased by roughly a third, to $8.9 billion.

On this year’s Thailand wealthy list, billionaire Sathien Setthasit is the largest percentage gainer.
Bloomberg/Brent Lewin

In total, 38 people on the list increased their wealth, with eight of them gaining more than $1 billion each. Sathien Setthasit and Nutchamai Thanombooncharoen, cofounders of the SET-listed Carabao Group, were the largest percentage gainers this year, with their fortunes more than doubling. For the first time in this ranking, their individual worth exceeded $1 billion.
All five healthcare tycoons on the list saw their fortunes improve, including Pongsak Viddayakorn’s son Satit, who bought a large share in Bumrungrad Hospital for about $600 million.

R&B Food Supply founder Somchai Ratanapoompinyo.
R&B Food Supply provided this image.
Three strangers have arrived, each from a different industry: Somchai Ratanapoompinyo, founder of R&B Food Supply; Somwang and Viyavood Sincharoenkul, father and son behind Sri Trang Group, whose Sri Trang Gloves (Thailand) is listed in Thailand and Singapore; and husband and wife Adisak and Nattaya Tangmitrphracha, cofounders of construction materials and home decor chain Dohome.
Bancha Ongkosit, whose KCE Electronics, a manufacturer of printed circuit boards for the automotive sector, is benefiting from the electric vehicle (EV) boom, is one of three who have returned to the ranks after previously stepping out.

Asia’s Forbes
Half a dozen people on the list saw their fortunes plummet, including King Power’s Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, whose duty-free fortune, which he shares with his family, was harmed when travel was halted. Six persons missed the cutoff this year, which has risen to $737 million from $460 million in 2020.
Thailand’s Richest 2021: Full Coverage
Megha Bahree, Sean Kilachand, Phisanu Phromchanya, Suzanne Nam, and Giacomo Tognini contributed reporting. Anuradha Raghunathan assisted with editing and reporting.
Methodology:
This list was constructed using financial and shareholding information acquired from families and individuals, stock exchanges and analysts, the Thai Stock Exchange, and regulatory organizations. Unlike our billionaire rankings, this one includes family riches, including those shared by numerous generations of extended families. Stock prices and exchange rates as of June 18 were used to compute public fortunes. The worth of private enterprises was determined by comparing them to similar publicly traded companies. Foreign citizens with business, residential, or other ties to the country, as well as people who do not dwell in the country but have significant business or other ties to the country, may be included on the list./nRead More

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