New York, July 11 (IANS) A 28-year-old Indian origin businesswoman has made it to the list of the 40 richest people in Thailand compiled by the Forbes magazine.
Nishita Shah, managing director of diversified GP Group, and her family are ranked 19th with a net worth of $375 million. At 28, she is the youngest among the richest in the Southeast Asian country.
A citation for her by the US business magazine says Shah is the biggest shareholder and director in dry-bulk shipper Precious Shipping, founded by her father Kirit. A licensed pilot, Shah is single and also runs a clothier company called Burn Baby and is launching her own fashion label, Nsha, in three continents at the end of the year.
Leading the Forbes list is beverage maker Chaleo Yoovidhya with a net worth of $4 billion, followed by beermaker Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi ($3.9 billion), and the Chirathivat family ($2.8 billion), who have interests in retail, property and hotels.
Former Thailand prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra returns to the list at 16th place with his family with a net worth of $400 million. He was ousted as premier in a 2006 coup, and avoided corruption charges by moving to Britain.
Thai authorities froze $2 billion in assets, largely from his family’s sale of Shin Corp, the telecom company he founded. He bought Britain’s Manchester City football club in 2007 and returned to Bangkok in February after the election of a pro-Thaksin government.