The estimate from Forbes that His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej is the worlds riches King right now did not go well with the Thai government. They said that the Crown Property Bureau has nothing to do with the king and can not be included in the estimate of his wealth.
Forbes Magazine also mentioned that the Thai king was somehow involved in the last coup in Thailand and that is something that the Thai government strongly denies.
Forbes estimates the Thai king’s fortune to about 35 billion dollar including the Crown Property Bureau and all their land in Bangkok.
Dear Admin,
I don’t know exactly where they are located. Basically, thorough research did by Ajahn Porphant on CPB and published in Journal of Contemporary Asia found that in 2005, all of CPB’s real estate made income of only $80 million (at exchange rate of that year would be only $56 million).
In that research it was cited that very highly valued land in the old areas of the city which included several slum communities, the CPB did not develop to reflect the commercial price. Also, examples were given about land rented out to state agencies for very cheap, such as the large plot of land used as police HQ across from Siam Paragon, that is being leased out at 1000 baht ($30) a year!
Now, you mention the night bazaar, so I suppose that falls into as part of the 7% figure of the land that is leased out at commercial rates.
Anyhows, I can understand people being suspicious given that info about CPB’s assets is still not widely and publicly available. That is unfortunate, this situation.
Well i really do not want to talk about His Majesty the king on this blog since its a delicate matter. But it is pretty well known that the CPB rented out the night bazaar to CP group and for loads of money. Most government houses are also on CPB land and it is not cheap. Where is all this land to poor people located?
Please see more detailed Article by Forbes (The Crowning Fortune) on Thai King’s wealth here:
http://www.forbes.com/magazines/global/2008/0901/032.html
The $35 billion is misleading, since, as stated clearly in the new Forbes Article, the Bangkok real estate holdings are worth $31 billion.
Research for 2005, shows the total income of Crown Property Bureau (CPB) at $280 million (adjusted for current exchange rate). In that total, $200 million was from company dividends, and only $80 million from the real estate. This is consistent with the recent Bangkokpost citation that most of CPB’s land is leased at low-priced, below market rate to state agencies, NGOs, and low-income tenants. It was also stated that only 7% of the land is leased at commercial rates. Paul Handley makes the same comment in the new Forbes Article that the CPB is not charging market rates, and that “raising them would cause serious repercussions, especially for its thousands of low-income tenants.”
How much of the annual income generated by the CPB goes to charity is unknown, but I am sure a good share of it does go to charity.
So, don’t treat the $35 billion figure as if it was the King’s disposable income. It is not. The greater bulk, ie. $31 billion, is real estate leased cheaply to state agencies and low-income people, and most of the rest is in share holdings which are invested in the long-term (good for economic stability).
The new Forbes Article makes the point that the CPB’s goal is: “to aid the country’s development by investing in key industries and providing below-market-rate housing for low-income citizens.”
So I think the King is using his assets wisely and for benefit of Thailand