How the billionaire family behind Red Bull became Thailand’s richest

The Yoovidhyas, who topped Forbes’ Thailand 2024 rich list with US$36 billion in collective net worth, co-own Red Bull, the energy drink giant founded by their late patriarch Chaleo Yoovidhya.

The family and its current head, Chalerm Yoovidhya, 74, also led this year’s list in terms of wealth growth with a $2.6 billion boost to their net worth.

(Chalerm Yoovidhya in Thailand, Dec. 20, 2012. Photo by Panoramic via Reuters)

While Red Bull is often associated with high-energy excitement, its late founder Chaleo had a vastly different personality, as reported by the New York Post.

He was famously reclusive and, as one of his sons revealed, had not granted an interview in the 30 years prior to his passing.

Hence, few details about his life were confirmed, but the known facts depict his success as a rags-to-riches story.

Chaleo was born to poor Chinese immigrants in the northern Thai province of Phichit and had worked various jobs, including as a bus conductor, fruit vendor, and duck farmer, according to the Washington Post.

Despite having little formal education, he founded TC Pharmaceutical Industries in 1962, a company specializing in antibiotics and cosmetics.

One of its products was an energy tonic called Krating Daeng, which means "red bull" in Thai.

The drink was originally sold in pharmacies as a stimulant and was popular among weary laborers and truckers, who drove the country's economic boom in the 1970s and '80s.

It caught the interest of an Austrian traveling toothpaste salesman named Dietrich Mateschitz in 1982, who was impressed by its ability to cure jet lag.

Mateschitz decided to partner with Chaleo to push the product to the international market. Each man invested $500,000 and secured a 49% ownership stake, while the remaining 2% went to Chaleo’s eldest son Chalerm.

After adjusting the recipe and redesigning the packaging, Red Bull was launched in 1987.

Instead of using traditional media like television, Red Bull focused on sponsoring student parties, sporting events and athletes, especially those in extreme sports like snowboarding and car racing.

(Thai businessman Chalerm Yoovidhya and his wife Daranee Yoovidhya attend the Formula One Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull race track in Spielberg, Austria on July 2, 2023. Photo by AFP)

Saravudh Yoovidhya, one of Chaleo's sons, explained in an interview with the Thai newspaper The Nation that while leading companies focused on the capital, Red Bull made its mark in provincial markets by providing free samples to truck drivers.

"My father believed that if he wanted to launch a new product, it had to be distinct from the market leader," he said, adding that Chaleo focused on brand building, which was an uncommon strategy at the time.

This unconventional approach proved successful and the drink grew in popularity among office workers and college students. By January 2011, the firm had sold 4.2 billion cans, generating $5.1 billion in revenue and capturing 70% of the energy drink market.

Chaleo died at a hospital in Bangkok on March 17, 2012, by which point he had been married twice and had 11 children. The Nation, a Thai newspaper, reported that he was 90, while several other news media outlets in Thailand said he was 88, according to The New York Times.

"I never heard words like ‘difficult’ or ‘impossible’ from my father. (...) He really enjoyed his work and sometimes carried on until 1 or 2 a.m. When he talked about his work, he was always very happy and active."

Ref: How the billionaire family behind Red Bull became Thailand’s richest (vnexpress) Photo Credit- Panoramic via Reuters, AFP