How did Leicester City’s billionaire chairman join Thailand’s wealthiest?

Billionaire Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha. Photo from Leicester City’s Facebook

This ranked him eighth on Forbes’ Thailand’s 50 Richest Net Worth list for 2023.

The foundation of the Srivaddhanaprabha family’s empire was laid in 1989 when Aiyawatt’s father Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha opened a duty-free shop in downtown Bangkok, which later became the cornerstone of King Power, as reported by football news site Football League World.

A Forbes report stated that by 2023, King Power was operating 11 duty-free shops in airports and tourist locales across Thailand, making it a billion-dollar entity in the country’s travel retail market with global acclaim.

The report highlighted that the family’s holdings also featured King Power Mahanakhon, Bangkok’s mixed-use skyscraper with a hotel and Thailand’s highest observation deck. This 78-storey landmark was reportedly acquired for 14 billion baht (US$396 million) shortly before Vichai’s death in a helicopter crash in Oct. 2018.

Another significant investment of theirs is Leicester City, acquired by the family led by Vichai in 2010.

Aiyawatt, 39, recently married Nuntisa Tanyongvetch, heiress to a top Thai premium school uniform brand, in a lavish ceremony on Jan. 28.

The event saw attendance from international royalty, including Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana of Thailand, Princess Azemah Bolkiah and Prince Mateen of Brunei, along with Prince Mateen’s wife, Yang Mulia Anish Rosnah.