HONG KONG – Forbes Magazine, featuring His Majesty the King of Thailand for the first time on its annual list of richest Thais, announced that HM’s right pinky alone was worth more than any individual or family in Thailand.
In a partial appraisal of the monarch’s total wealth, the magazine’s editors valued His Majesty’s pinky at 5.2 billion US dollars, calculated using a baht-per-gram equation that multiplied his total wealth by the average human pinky-to-body weight ratio.
His Majesty’s pinky was not only the first body part to ever top a Forbes list but the King also broke new ground as the first real Thai to ever make the list of richest Thais.
Explaining the unusual calculation, Forbes Asia editor Tim Ferguson said, “We understand there are certain sensitivities in calculating and publicizing the wealth of the revered leader of Thailand, so we decided to start with only his right pinky. In the future, we may include his entire hand and then move on to his arms and torso, if circumstances permit.”
The pinky of His Majesty is roughly equivalent to less than one tenth of a percent of the King if he was considered as a whole person. The total wealth of the King, whose holdings are managed by the Crown Property Bureau (CPB), is a closely guarded secret and is not subject to audit, scrutiny, or taxes. However, using a survey of the known and rumored real estate holdings of the CBP, which includes almost 55% of downtown Bangkok, calculated with average rental rates and occupancy numbers, produced a figure that was “an order of magnitude” higher than the nearest competitor.
Augmenting this sum with the revenues of the industrial and financial conglomerates controlled or part-owned by the CPB, including Siam Commercial Bank, Siam Cement, Shin Corporation, Honda (Thailand), the Dusit Thani Hotel and dozens of others, led to a figure so astronomical that the editors decided its publication would be incendiary in Thailand – where nominal per capita GDP is only $3,400.
Forbes’ Ferguson said that an initial calculation of the value of HM’s index finger and thumb was also rejected after they realized that this appraisal would make the other tycoons on the Forbes list look “like paupers in comparison and render the entire Forbes rich list meaningless.”
The Royal Palace did not respond to NTN’s request for a comment on Forbes’ new rankings (reprinted below), but later issued a statement reminding Thais to donate generously to the King’s charities.
The Forbes List (Top 4):
- His Majesty the King of Thailand’s Pinky (Thailand) – US$5.2 billion
- Chaleo Yoovidhya (Red Bull) – $4 billion
- Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi (Boonrawd) – $3.9 billion
- Chirathivat Family (Central) – $3.2 billlion