Thai King Tops List of World's Richest Royals With $35B

Date: May 24, 2010

Wall Street Journal - Article that reconized North & Northeastern Thais as Lao people

Date: May 24, 2010

Anonymous wrote:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704546304575261331886900358.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Bangkok truly isn't like the rest of the country. A century ago saw the rather haphazard initial construction of a nationalist model based on smothering local languages, cultures and ethnic identity under a Western colonial-inspired centralized Thai state. In both the North and Northeast, rebellions against Thai state incursions were promptly suppressed. Ethnically, the people of the North and Northeast are Lao and originally spoke dialects of Lao. Yet under the new nationalism they were suddenly "Thai" and spoke a local "Thai dialect." Even after a century of mixing with central Thai, it may not be too much of an exaggeration to say that a majority of people now living in Thailand speak a Lao dialect in their homes.

Are you surprise by this ? No, i'm not at all.

Date: May 24, 2010

There is not supprise to somebody , but the rest of the WORLD doesn't know north and north east is original LAO

Date: May 24, 2010

By DAVID STRECKFUSS

Khon Kaen, Thailand

As the leaders of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (the "red shirts") in central Bangkok ended their 79-day protest and surrendered themselves to authorities on May 19, Thailand literally went up in flames. For the rest of that day, roving bands of angry red-shirt protesters torched dozens of buildings in Bangkok. The governor of Bangkok proclaimed that May 19 would forever be remembered by its inhabitants.

Yet while much of the international focus has been on the situation in Bangkok—where indeed the protests have been largest and the violence most severe—it is now clear the disaffection has spread. In provinces through the North and Northeast, furious red-shirt mobs put to flame provincial halls and other offices and businesses perceived as sympathetic to the government. In this city of 200,000 situated 450 kilometers from Bangkok, red shirts pushed back police to set fire to the provincial hall and the government television station that they say distorted the news about their struggle, and broke windows of the bank they say funded the forces that have left more than 70 of them dead since April 10.

The pressing question for Thailand's future now is whether the Bangkok elites who support the current government and oppose the red shirts will take the trouble to understand why disaffection is spreading. The truth is that these protests have tapped into a long-simmering brew of ethnic and economic tensions bubbling below the surface of Thai society. It is often said there are two Thailands: Bangkok and the rest. After a century of the capital's political and military incursions into the hinterland, the red-shirt demonstration represented the most serious and sustained foray of the hinterland into Bangkok.

Bangkok truly isn't like the rest of the country. A century ago saw the rather haphazard initial construction of a nationalist model based on smothering local languages, cultures and ethnic identity under a Western colonial-inspired centralized Thai state. In both the North and Northeast, rebellions against Thai state incursions were promptly suppressed. Ethnically, the people of the North and Northeast are Lao and originally spoke dialects of Lao. Yet under the new nationalism they were suddenly "Thai" and spoke a local "Thai dialect." Even after a century of mixing with central Thai, it may not be too much of an exaggeration to say that a majority of people now living in Thailand speak a Lao dialect in their homes.

An emerging regionalism was crushed by military governments in the 1950s. In the early 1960s, the military dictatorship of Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat perfected the model of Thai-ness, defined by praise of hierarchy and the unified Thai race, the centrality of the monarchy and "Thai-style democracy." A threat of greater democratization and political liberalization was cut short by a bloody coup in 1976.

It was only with the "People's Constitution" of 1997 that sovereignty decisively shifted into the hands of the Thai people through a fully elected House of Representatives and Senate. The constitution recognized local community and cultural rights and promised greater decentralization. Now there was a mechanism for addressing regional inequalities. Poor people were suddenly enfranchised more than ever before in Thai history. A majority in the North and Northeast regions, supplemented by poorer classes in urban areas, could, if unfettered, play the deciding role in representative democracy.

This has set the stage for this year's protests. Bangkok elites have laid the blame with the populist former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a billionaire whose government promoted essentially free health care, debt aid to farmers and rural economic development. But Mr. Thaksin didn't create the forces that are now roiling Thailand. He was simply more adept than earlier politicians at understanding how to appeal to voters outside Bangkok. His political genius was to tap into the demand this enfranchisement created in rural areas for a greater voice in Thai government.

Rather than adjusting to the new political realities, Mr. Thaksin's detractors fell back on complaints (some justified, some not) that he bought votes, undermined democratic institutions, committed massive human rights violations and used his office for personal gain. The forces of conservatism, as represented by the pro-monarchy, old-establishment People's Alliance for Democracy, or "yellow shirts," regrouped and supported the 2006 military coup that threw Mr. Thaksin out of power after months of demonstrations.

The ensuing 2007 military-inspired constitution limited popular sovereignty through a half-appointed Senate, new electoral rules and a greatly expanded role of the judiciary. From 2006 to 2008, Thai courts nullified one election that Mr. Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai party won; dissolved Thaksin-backed parties twice and banned 220 0f their executive members from political office for five years; and removed one prime minister—Samak Sundaravej—for taking a small remuneration for hosting a television cooking show.

At the same time, a court order seemed to condone the yellow shirts' months-long occupation of the Government House, and the justice system has yet to bring yellow-shirt leaders to trial on "terrorism" charges for seizing Bangkok's international airport in late 2008. The suspects—including Thailand's present Minister of Foreign Affairs—were given bail. In contrast, following the recent protests in Bangkok the red shirts as a whole are being portrayed as terrorists and enemies of the nation, and the red-shirt leaders have been denied bail.

To many people in the North and Northeast, it appears that the courts are frustrating the popular will and there is no equality before the law. This in part explains the growing rage of red-shirt protesters. Prior to the end of their protest Wednesday, red-shirt leaders in Bangkok warned that if security forces attacked them, Thailand would become divided. Malay Muslims in the South of Thailand already have been in revolt for years. Such, the red shirts said, may happen with the North and Northeast. On the national stage during the protest, speakers from the North and Northeast often spoke, sang and celebrated in their preferred tongue—not as some performance of rustic, minority Thai people, but as a purposeful expression of a frustrated political disenfranchisement.

As the protests heated up in April, some angry Bangkokians took to the streets, screaming, "Rural people, get out!" These people of Bangkok only saw what the red shirts had done to them. They did not see that much of the red rage is about what Bangkok has done to the "second class" rural people. Whether Bangkok's elites will recognize that fact ultimately will make the difference between a democratic Thailand with equality under the law, or the possibility of a forever-fractured Thailand.

Mr. Streckfuss is a writer based in Thailand.

Dark Angel · Guru

That is no surprise when all the newspapers ,TV , always wrote and reported only the negatives things about the red shirt protesters who were come from countryside such as the north east and Esan. Also the Thai military don't have any problems to sleep at night to shoot those protesters specially the snipers who murdered the unarmed protesters in cold blood as the world have been witness in the you tube and there are more but the Thai covernment block and covered up and destroyed the evidences. The Thai government and the yellow protectors drove and pushed the red shirt to fight black which lead by cracking down and unfair treated so which lead to the violent and ended up with lost of lives and arson across the country. Those protesters who are poor farmers and came from the countryside are conssidering by the yellow shirt people as the low class people and uneducated people and second class citizen who have been paid by the former PM Thaksin to protest. But the fact is there are no any amount of money to hire any body to sacrifice their to any body but their own belive and good cause . Even those poor people are not well educated but they know between justice and injustice , right and wrong,good and evil so they have the right to be human being as much as the the rich and the upper class people and the have the right to protest and ask for justice and democracy.. If there are no justice and who know what will be the next step after the protest.

Destined · Senior Member

its good that the rest of the world will get atleast a hint of what the real root of the protest was.

much of the world dont know about the real history in south east asia. heck most people didnt even know laos was involved in the vietnam wars.

its good that laos is finally beginning to get some light shined on it.

anyway i hope thailand will find a peaceful solution to all this inequality.

Dark Angel · Guru

there will be a long guerrilla war inThailand in the north East and Esan and the Muslim terrorists in the souther part of Thailand.

Date: May 24, 2010

Reporter is Lao race

Date: May 24, 2010

Dark Angel wrote:

there will be a long guerrilla war inThailand in the north East and Esan and the Muslim terrorists in the souther part of Thailand.

Hopefully not, In the past few month we have seen enough. i hope everything Calm down and thai citizens get back to Normal and get their economy going as well as help the surrounding neighboring countries.

chiip · Guru

Hmm ! I don.t think there is a free dinner in this world and stop dreaming that thai would help you for free, they help in bridge and rail construction cos they can sell the steel and cement and to ease their goods transportation ( to Laos and VN ) They help to invest in hydro power and buy the energy to send and sell it back to laos...

Date: May 25, 2010

Here's a 14th Century maps of the Southeast Asia Kingdoms

Date: May 25, 2010

chiip wrote:

Hmm ! I don.t think there is a free dinner in this world and stop dreaming that thai would help you for free, they help in bridge and rail construction cos they can sell the steel and cement and to ease their goods transportation ( to Laos and VN ) They help to invest in hydro power and buy the energy to send and sell it back to laos...

I think Brother Chiip totally misunderstood of what i said, '' When i said helping the surrounding neighbors i don't mean helping for free Bro, Thailand alway have histories of helping out the neighbors countries by giving out a small or big loan to their neighbors with a little Interest and no tome limited. They gave to our Laos, Burma, and Cambodia, and i don't know if they ever give it out to Vietnam. Oh by the way, You absolutely right, There's no free meal.

Date: May 25, 2010

Lao people are the people of the Mekong River. The Lao migrated down river and inhabited both the right and left banks of the Mekong. The migration went as far south as Xieng Tang (aka Stung Treng, Cambodia) before being halted by the Khmer inhabitants. The Khmer kingdom prevented the Lao from migrating further down river all the way to the open sea. All major cities or towns are located along the Mekong river and its tributaries (Sipsong Panna, Luang Prabang, Vientiane, Champassak, etc.)

The Siamese (Thai) are the people of the Chao Phraya River. They settled along the river from Sukhothai, Ayuthaya to present-day Bangkok. The Ayuthaya Kingdom( aka Siam) was extinguished at the hand of the Burmese in April 1767. But Siam spectacularly recovered under the leadership of General Taksin to recover the lost territories and found the new capital in Bangkok. Taksin then expanded at the expense of the Lao (Lan Xang Kingdom had already been broken up into three separate rival kingdoms in 1707 to 1713). Chiang Mai of Lanna Kingdom was re-conquered in 1774. In 1779, the Thai General Chao Phraya Chakri captured Vientiane and took the Emerald and Prabang Buddha to Siam, but the Prabang was eventually returned due to the perception that it was bad luck for Siam. He became King Rama I of Siam, after deposing King Taksin (It is ironic considering that Taksin Shinawantra is now a nemesis of King Rama IX). Incidentally, neither Taksin nor Chao Praya Chakri are related to Ayuthaya rulers. They were hauled off by the Burmese when Ayuthaya was sacked in 1767.

Scholars don’t dispute that Lao and Siamese are derived from the Tai group sharing the same ancestry. The first king of Lan Xang, Chao Fa Ngum challenged the first king of Ayuthaya, U-Thong, to a fight for the control the Khorat Plateau (present-day Isan). U-thong’s reply: We are all descendant of Khun Borom. There’s no need to fight. Take what you want. You can have the Khorat. The second king of Lan Xang, King Samsenthai , is the son of King Fa Ngum and a princess from Ayuthaya Kingdom. And there were many more generations of inter-relationship between the rulers of the Ayuthaya, Lan Xang and Lanna Kingdoms.

If Central Thais truly believe the inter-relationship between the Tai groups, the arrogance of the past and present Siamese (Central Thais) should have lessened. Instead, they have continued to treat their cousins in the North and Northeast with condescension. After a century of inter-mixing, Non-Central Thais are still predominantly outside the circle of influence, the center of power in Bangkok. The Bangkok people - the Siamese have continued to treat their cousins as a conquered people to be excluded from the center of power – the Mandala in Bangkok. Mandala is a Sankrit word to describe “circle” for the center of power in SE Asia Kingdoms. In the 14^th century, the mandala being at Chiang Mai, Vientiane, Ayuthaya, Angkor, etc. It is a feudal system that Bangkok has never quite relinquished.

Thailand is on paper a Constitutional Monarchy, i.e. the British model where there’s democracy with the Monarchy as the figure head of the state. In practice, there’s only a façade democracy where the majority rules. In reality, the military owes its allegiance to the palace, not the elected Prime Minister. The present day Thailand power structure is analogous to the equestrian model. The King owns the stable and the horses. The Prime Minister is the Jockey. The military are the horses. The business elites run the stable. They are there to serve at the pleasure of the owner, the King.

The hierarchy of Thai society is roughly divided into four groups: The monarchy, the military, the business elites, and the commoners. The North and Northeastern Thais are predominantly in the commoner category, hence the current struggle for power. It is a struggle for who will control the future of Thailand – The commoner majority or the elite minority.

Regional breakdown of the Thais consist of the Central Thai (aka Siamese @ 33.7%) of the Central Valley; the Eastern Thai (Lao Isan or Thai Isan @ 34.2%) of the Northeast; the Northern Thai (Lanna or Khon Mueng @ 18.8%) of North Thailand; And Southern Thai (13.3%). This percentage adds up to 100% for a total population of 65 million.

For ethnicity breakdown, Thai Chinese are roughly 14% of the total population which is predominantly found in the Central Thais. The Malays are roughly 4% of the total population which is included in the southern Thai population count. Various ethnic groups account for roughly 7% of the total population. They are the Mon, Khmer, Hmong, Karen, etc. The remaining 75% are roughly Thai (Tai) by heritage. Assuming the 7% minority groups live in the North and Northeast region, the North and Isan Thais still constitute roughly 46% of the total population.

The red-shirt movement is an ongoing struggle throughout the centuries for marginalized people to seek equality, justice, among many other deficiencies. Rebellion through the centuries to challenge Bangkok hegemony had been ruthlessly and utterly crushed. One such example is the rebellion by Chao Anuvong of Vientiane. In 1828, Vientiane was burned to the ground and her population deported to the Khorat Plateau (Isan). To cultivate loyalty to Siam and provide examples for others to follow, Ya Mo (aka Ying Mo, Thao Sunaree) was promoted to have been a major player in defeating the Lao army lead by Chao Anuvong.

Thaicification has been largely successful to propagate the idea of Thai Nationalism. That is the love of country and the monarchy. The word Thailand was coined to replace Siam after World War II. Now Thailand, the land of the Thai (Tai) people is in a crisis with its unfinished business of the past. A modern rebellion reflecting centuries of oppression have commenced a new phase, it is the prai (serfs) against the amataya (elites). As can be seen from protests and burnings in Bangkok, Thailand during May 2010, more violence and destruction in Thailand are yet to come.

Written by Ai Souk – Khon Lao USA

Note: The revolt by Chao Anouvong is considered a rebellion from the Central Thai’s perspective. From the Lao perspective, it was a tragically failed war of independence .

Destined · Senior Member

wow speak out great find..

i enjoyed reading that very much..

a las, chao anou was a great attempt for the lao for independence but even then we werent united.

what i mostly agreed on from the article as the saying " unifinished business" chao anous flame still burns strong it may have transoformed into something else but it is unifished business. chao anou who lead the lao for independence his flame is now leading the way for equality amongst the people of thailand.

one way or another chao anous dreams will be fullfilled.

chiip · Guru

My dear Speak Out ! ! Many thanks for agreeing with me about meals or dinners and as we all know that Thailand is a copy of the UK administration : the Monarchy , Elites, Military and the serfs as Ai Souk said and the Monarchy of Thailand is the richest monarchy of the world. it has a total assets of 30 Billions USD written by a reporter. yes, Thailand is a rich country. Like the UK, by stealing the resourse of raw materiels and human workforces of its colonies for many centuries and now having so much money, it has the right to lend its money to the neighboring countries to pave the way for its own flourishing businesses inside those said good neighbors... it is their policy... and we, poor countries have to bend down and accept its offers and thereafter we whether like it or not shall become the victim of our own dept.
Yeah ! this is the world we live , the big fish swallow the smaller one and eccetterra , eccetterra.

Have fine day everyone !
Chiip.

narongchai_thi · Veteran Member

................................

-- Edited by narongchai_thi on Wednesday 26th of May 2010 01:46:49 PM

Dark Angel · Guru

-- Edited by Dark Angel on Wednesday 26th of May 2010 03:09:23 PM

Date: May 27, 2010

chiip wrote:

My dear Speak Out ! ! Many thanks for agreeing with me about meals or dinners and as we all know that Thailand is a copy of the UK administration : the Monarchy , Elites, Military and the serfs as Ai Souk said and the Monarchy of Thailand is the richest monarchy of the world. it has a total assets of 30 Billions USD written by a reporter. yes, Thailand is a rich country. Like the UK, by stealing the resourse of raw materiels and human workforces of its colonies for many centuries and now having so much money, it has the right to lend its money to the neighboring countries to pave the way for its own flourishing businesses inside those said good neighbors... it is their policy... and we, poor countries have to bend down and accept its offers and thereafter we whether like it or not shall become the victim of our own dept.
Yeah ! this is the world we live , the big fish swallow the smaller one and eccetterra , eccetterra.

Have fine day everyone !
Chiip.

Thai King Tops List of World's Richest Royals With $35B

Friday, August 22, 2008

Reuters

Dec. 5, 2007: Thailand's revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej waves to guests from the balcony of the Grand Palace in Bangkok.

There is a new leader at the helm of Forbes magazine’s regal rich list, with King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, the world’s longest-reigning monarch, knocking the Sultan of Brunei off the top spot, the Times of London reported.

Forbes said that the 80-year-old king had a $35 billion fortune, with his estimated net worth increasing sevenfold during the past year because of the increased transparency of his holdings.

The Sultan of Brunei was one of only two royals to record a surprise fall in wealth, dropping to fourth in the list, despite huge rises in the price of oil and gas.

Forbes rates the fortune of Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, 62, at $20 billion, adding that Brunei’s oilfields were in danger of drying up. “The sultan, who inherited the riches of an unbroken 600-year-old Muslim dynasty, has had to cut back on his country’s oil production because of depleting reserves,” the magazine said.

King Mohammed VI of Morocco was the only other royal to record a decline in wealth, with his estimated worth, mainly in phosphate mining and agriculture, falling 25 per cent to $1.5 billion after the nation was hit by a drought, and economic growth slowed to 2 percent.

Overall, it was a good year for monarchies, Forbes said. “As a group, the world’s 15 richest royals have increased their total wealth to $131 billion, up from $95 billion last year.”

The magazine noted that because many of the royals inherited their wealth, share it with extended families, and often control it “in trust for their nation or territory,” none of those on its list would qualify for the magazine’s famous annual world billionaires ranking.

“Because of technical and idiosyncratic oddities in the exact relationship between individual and state wealth, these estimates are perforce a blend of art and science,” it added.

"While we have tracked the fortunes of a few high-profile royals, like the Queen of England and Sultan of Brunei, for years, this is only the second time we have published a definitive list of the richest royals," Forbes said.

"Monarchs of such countries as Spain and Japan failed to make the cut."

King Bhumibol, 80 years old and the world's longest-reigning monarch after six decades on the throne, is regarded as semi-divine by many Thais, Reuters reported.

Queen Elizabeth II, 82, has slipped one place down the global rich list of kings and queens. She now sits at 12th, with an estimated net worth of $295 million.

Following is Forbes' ranking of the world's richest royals:

1. King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Thailand)

2. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan (United Arab Emirates)

3. King Abdullah (Saudi Arabia)

4. Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah (Brunei)

5. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid al-Maktoum (Dubai)

6. Prince Hans Adam II (Liechtenstein)

7. Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani (Qatar)

8. King Mohammed VI (Morocco)

9. Prince Albert II (Monaco)

10. Sultan Qaboos bin Said (Oman)

11. Prince Karim Al Husseini (Agha Khan)

12. Queen Elizabeth (Britain)

13. Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah (Kuwait)

14. Queen Beatrix (Netherlands)

15. King Mswati III (Swaziland)

Click here to read more on this story from the Times of London.

Click here to read more on this story from Reuters.

See Next Story in World

Date: May 27, 2010

[video=Thai King Tops List of World's Richest Royals With $35BFriday, August 22, 2008 ]

khonthakek · Guru

and where is Lao king?

Date: May 27, 2010

██ above $10,500 world GDP (PPP) per capita
██ below $10,500 world GDP (PPP) per capita

The following table is the mainland SEA Gross Domestic Product per capita adjusted for purchasing power parity (basically average annual income per person with adjustment for differences in cost of living in each country).

The listing is ranked by the Internation Monetary Fund (IMF) for 181 countries.

Country GDP per Capita Rank

Thailand $8,060 89

Vietnam $2,942 127

Laos $2,266 138

Cambodia $2,015 145

Myanmar $1,197 161

Click here for a complete world listings

As can be seen from the table that Laos and other neighboring countries are relatively poor compared to Thailand. Myanmar is poor because of the dictatorial military Junta. The Junta is paranoid, repressing the oppositions instead of promoting trades with world to grow the economy. They perceived many countries around the world as hostile to their military regime. The regimes in Laos, Vietnam and China are all single-party government, but that does not limit them to trading with friendly or former unfriendly countries. Trading is an effective tool to efficiently manage capital, natural and human resources for economic growth.

Thailand is significantly richer than her neighboring countries. As reported by Reuters in the previous post, the king of Thailand is the richest monarchy in the world with a least $35 billion fortune. The poorer neighboring countries needs capital investment from Thailand to improve the infrastructure and to develop human resources. It is in their interest to see a stable Thailand. These countries are tired of war and conflicts. They want to focus on economic growth and to accumulate wealth.

Laos too wants to see a stable Thailand. For much of the capital investments come from Thailand. The current political crisis is not in the best interest of Laos. That is the conventional wisdom. But from the stand-point of cultural affinity with the Northern and Isan Thais, Laos and Thailand would have a much closer ties if the "Red-Shirt" rules Thailand.

Opinion from Ai Souk

Dark Angel · Guru

khonthakek wrote:

and where is Lao king?

Lao king was poor because Lan Xang nation treasury had been stolen and robbed by the other nations who occupied Lan xang and Lana so many times such The China, Burma, Vitenam ,Siam and France. Those countries stole silvers that laotian used money and solid gold and Pra Kea that was not all the people to be their slave to grow rice to feed their anton and build their road and town and cities for hundred of yerars and no time to develop and build Laos and educated Lao people. Laos lost of alot land and of of people. Also Laos is land lock and suffer from war for many decades. but in time Laos will be caught up with the world.

Dark Angel · Guru

Anonymous wrote:

chiip wrote:

My dear Speak Out ! ! Many thanks for agreeing with me about meals or dinners and as we all know that Thailand is a copy of the UK administration : the Monarchy , Elites, Military and the serfs as Ai Souk said and the Monarchy of Thailand is the richest monarchy of the world. it has a total assets of 30 Billions USD written by a reporter. yes, Thailand is a rich country. Like the UK, by stealing the resourse of raw materiels and human workforces of its colonies for many centuries and now having so much money, it has the right to lend its money to the neighboring countries to pave the way for its own flourishing businesses inside those said good neighbors... it is their policy... and we, poor countries have to bend down and accept its offers and thereafter we whether like it or not shall become the victim of our own dept.
Yeah ! this is the world we live , the big fish swallow the smaller one and eccetterra , eccetterra.

Have fine day everyone !
Chiip.

Thai King Tops List of World's Richest Royals With $35B
Friday, August 22, 2008
Print
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Reuters

Dec. 5, 2007: Thailand's revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej waves to guests from the balcony of the Grand Palace in Bangkok.
There is a new leader at the helm of Forbes magazine’s regal rich list, with King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, the world’s longest-reigning monarch, knocking the Sultan of Brunei off the top spot, the Times of London reported.
Forbes said that the 80-year-old king had a $35 billion fortune, with his estimated net worth increasing sevenfold during the past year because of the increased transparency of his holdings.
The Sultan of Brunei was one of only two royals to record a surprise fall in wealth, dropping to fourth in the list, despite huge rises in the price of oil and gas.
Forbes rates the fortune of Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, 62, at $20 billion, adding that Brunei’s oilfields were in danger of drying up. “The sultan, who inherited the riches of an unbroken 600-year-old Muslim dynasty, has had to cut back on his country’s oil production because of depleting reserves,” the magazine said.
King Mohammed VI of Morocco was the only other royal to record a decline in wealth, with his estimated worth, mainly in phosphate mining and agriculture, falling 25 per cent to $1.5 billion after the nation was hit by a drought, and economic growth slowed to 2 percent.
Overall, it was a good year for monarchies, Forbes said. “As a group, the world’s 15 richest royals have increased their total wealth to $131 billion, up from $95 billion last year.”
The magazine noted that because many of the royals inherited their wealth, share it with extended families, and often control it “in trust for their nation or territory,” none of those on its list would qualify for the magazine’s famous annual world billionaires ranking.
“Because of technical and idiosyncratic oddities in the exact relationship between individual and state wealth, these estimates are perforce a blend of art and science,” it added.
"While we have tracked the fortunes of a few high-profile royals, like the Queen of England and Sultan of Brunei, for years, this is only the second time we have published a definitive list of the richest royals," Forbes said.
"Monarchs of such countries as Spain and Japan failed to make the cut."
King Bhumibol, 80 years old and the world's longest-reigning monarch after six decades on the throne, is regarded as semi-divine by many Thais, Reuters reported.
Queen Elizabeth II, 82, has slipped one place down the global rich list of kings and queens. She now sits at 12th, with an estimated net worth of $295 million.
Following is Forbes' ranking of the world's richest royals:
1. King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Thailand)
2. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan (United Arab Emirates)
3. King Abdullah (Saudi Arabia)
4. Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah (Brunei)
5. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid al-Maktoum (Dubai)
6. Prince Hans Adam II (Liechtenstein)
7. Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani (Qatar)
8. King Mohammed VI (Morocco)
9. Prince Albert II (Monaco)
10. Sultan Qaboos bin Said (Oman)
11. Prince Karim Al Husseini (Agha Khan)
12. Queen Elizabeth (Britain)
13. Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah (Kuwait)
14. Queen Beatrix (Netherlands)
15. King Mswati III (Swaziland)
Click here to read more on this story from the Times of London.
Click here to read more on this story from Reuters.

See Next Story in World

Only the Thai king is the richest king in the world with the funture of 35 billions US dolllars that is the king's money not the country 's money.Thailand now has a lot of debt.Thailand economy used to be very good in Asia and no debt 4 and 5 years ago. Now Thailand has a lot of debt.. So Laos just don't expect too much from Thailand.

khonthakek · Guru

Anonymous wrote:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704546304575261331886900358.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Bangkok truly isn't like the rest of the country. A century ago saw the rather haphazard initial construction of a nationalist model based on smothering local languages, cultures and ethnic identity under a Western colonial-inspired centralized Thai state. In both the North and Northeast, rebellions against Thai state incursions were promptly suppressed. Ethnically, the people of the North and Northeast are Lao and originally spoke dialects of Lao. Yet under the new nationalism they were suddenly "Thai" and spoke a local "Thai dialect." Even after a century of mixing with central Thai, it may not be too much of an exaggeration to say that a majority of people now living in Thailand speak a Lao dialect in their homes.

no matter what they are--- the govt should give them what they demand...the govt was elected by the ppl...why don't give the ppl back something, but not bullets

Date: May 28, 2010

Thai King Tops List of World's Richest Royals With $35B
Friday, August 22, 2008
Print
ShareThis

Reuters

Dec. 5, 2007: Thailand's revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej waves to guests from the balcony of the Grand Palace in Bangkok.
There is a new leader at the helm of Forbes magazine’s regal rich list, with King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, the world’s longest-reigning monarch, knocking the Sultan of Brunei off the top spot, the Times of London reported.
Forbes said that the 80-year-old king had a $35 billion fortune, with his estimated net worth increasing sevenfold during the past year because of the increased transparency of his holdings.
The Sultan of Brunei was one of only two royals to record a surprise fall in wealth, dropping to fourth in the list, despite huge rises in the price of oil and gas.
Forbes rates the fortune of Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, 62, at $20 billion, adding that Brunei’s oilfields were in danger of drying up. “The sultan, who inherited the riches of an unbroken 600-year-old Muslim dynasty, has had to cut back on his country’s oil production because of depleting reserves,” the magazine said.
King Mohammed VI of Morocco was the only other royal to record a decline in wealth, with his estimated worth, mainly in phosphate mining and agriculture, falling 25 per cent to $1.5 billion after the nation was hit by a drought, and economic growth slowed to 2 percent.
Overall, it was a good year for monarchies, Forbes said. “As a group, the world’s 15 richest royals have increased their total wealth to $131 billion, up from $95 billion last year.”
The magazine noted that because many of the royals inherited their wealth, share it with extended families, and often control it “in trust for their nation or territory,” none of those on its list would qualify for the magazine’s famous annual world billionaires ranking.
“Because of technical and idiosyncratic oddities in the exact relationship between individual and state wealth, these estimates are perforce a blend of art and science,” it added.
"While we have tracked the fortunes of a few high-profile royals, like the Queen of England and Sultan of Brunei, for years, this is only the second time we have published a definitive list of the richest royals," Forbes said.
"Monarchs of such countries as Spain and Japan failed to make the cut."
King Bhumibol, 80 years old and the world's longest-reigning monarch after six decades on the throne, is regarded as semi-divine by many Thais, Reuters reported.
Queen Elizabeth II, 82, has slipped one place down the global rich list of kings and queens. She now sits at 12th, with an estimated net worth of $295 million.
Following is Forbes' ranking of the world's richest royals:
1. King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Thailand)
2. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan (United Arab Emirates)
3. King Abdullah (Saudi Arabia)
4. Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah (Brunei)
5. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid al-Maktoum (Dubai)
6. Prince Hans Adam II (Liechtenstein)
7. Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani (Qatar)
8. King Mohammed VI (Morocco)
9. Prince Albert II (Monaco)
10. Sultan Qaboos bin Said (Oman)
11. Prince Karim Al Husseini (Agha Khan)
12. Queen Elizabeth (Britain)
13. Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah (Kuwait)
14. Queen Beatrix (Netherlands)
15. King Mswati III (Swaziland)
Click here to read more on this story from the Times of London.
Click here to read more on this story from Reuters.

See Next Story in World

HOW COULD IT BE THAT THE THAI KING IS RICHER THAN THE KING OF UNITED ARAB AMIRATES , SAUDI ARABIA AND DUBAI WHO HAVE BILLIONS AND BILLIONS BARRELS OF OIL. WHERE THE HELL THE REPORT GOT THOSE INFORMATION FROM ?HOW DOES THE THE THAI KING GET THE MONEY FROM? HELL NO WAY THAT REPROT IS WRONG. THAILAND IS NOT THE FIRST WORLD COUNRTY YET.THAILAND IS NOT RICH AND ALSO NOT POOR AND STILL NOT IN THE LIST OF THE FIRST WORLD COUNTRY ALSO. SO WHERE THE THAI GET THE MONEY FROM THERE RAE NO OIL DRILLING IN THAILAND.

Date: May 28, 2010

STUPID THAI MONARCHY!!!!!!!
THAI KING SUCK HIMSELF

Date: May 28, 2010

Anonymous wrote:

STUPID THAI MONARCHY!!!!!!!
THAI KING SUCK HIMSELF

Yoooo easy easy please don't bring down and insulted the higher institution.

Dark Angel · Guru

Anonymous wrote:

Thai King Tops List of World's Richest Royals With $35B
Friday, August 22, 2008
Print
ShareThis

Reuters

Dec. 5, 2007: Thailand's revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej waves to guests from the balcony of the Grand Palace in Bangkok.
There is a new leader at the helm of Forbes magazine’s regal rich list, with King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, the world’s longest-reigning monarch, knocking the Sultan of Brunei off the top spot, the Times of London reported.
Forbes said that the 80-year-old king had a $35 billion fortune, with his estimated net worth increasing sevenfold during the past year because of the increased transparency of his holdings.
The Sultan of Brunei was one of only two royals to record a surprise fall in wealth, dropping to fourth in the list, despite huge rises in the price of oil and gas.
Forbes rates the fortune of Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, 62, at $20 billion, adding that Brunei’s oilfields were in danger of drying up. “The sultan, who inherited the riches of an unbroken 600-year-old Muslim dynasty, has had to cut back on his country’s oil production because of depleting reserves,” the magazine said.
King Mohammed VI of Morocco was the only other royal to record a decline in wealth, with his estimated worth, mainly in phosphate mining and agriculture, falling 25 per cent to $1.5 billion after the nation was hit by a drought, and economic growth slowed to 2 percent.
Overall, it was a good year for monarchies, Forbes said. “As a group, the world’s 15 richest royals have increased their total wealth to $131 billion, up from $95 billion last year.”
The magazine noted that because many of the royals inherited their wealth, share it with extended families, and often control it “in trust for their nation or territory,” none of those on its list would qualify for the magazine’s famous annual world billionaires ranking.
“Because of technical and idiosyncratic oddities in the exact relationship between individual and state wealth, these estimates are perforce a blend of art and science,” it added.
"While we have tracked the fortunes of a few high-profile royals, like the Queen of England and Sultan of Brunei, for years, this is only the second time we have published a definitive list of the richest royals," Forbes said.
"Monarchs of such countries as Spain and Japan failed to make the cut."
King Bhumibol, 80 years old and the world's longest-reigning monarch after six decades on the throne, is regarded as semi-divine by many Thais, Reuters reported.
Queen Elizabeth II, 82, has slipped one place down the global rich list of kings and queens. She now sits at 12th, with an estimated net worth of $295 million.
Following is Forbes' ranking of the world's richest royals:
1. King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Thailand)
2. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan (United Arab Emirates)
3. King Abdullah (Saudi Arabia)
4. Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah (Brunei)
5. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid al-Maktoum (Dubai)
6. Prince Hans Adam II (Liechtenstein)
7. Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani (Qatar)
8. King Mohammed VI (Morocco)
9. Prince Albert II (Monaco)
10. Sultan Qaboos bin Said (Oman)
11. Prince Karim Al Husseini (Agha Khan)
12. Queen Elizabeth (Britain)
13. Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah (Kuwait)
14. Queen Beatrix (Netherlands)
15. King Mswati III (Swaziland)
Click here to read more on this story from the Times of London.
Click here to read more on this story from Reuters.

See Next Story in World

HOW COULD IT BE THAT THE THAI KING IS RICHER THAN THE KING OF UNITED ARAB AMIRATES , SAUDI ARABIA AND DUBAI WHO HAVE BILLIONS AND BILLIONS BARRELS OF OIL. WHERE THE HELL THE REPORT GOT THOSE INFORMATION FROM ?HOW DOES THE THE THAI KING GET THE MONEY FROM? HELL NO WAY THAT REPROT IS WRONG. THAILAND IS NOT THE FIRST WORLD COUNRTY YET.THAILAND IS NOT RICH AND ALSO NOT POOR AND STILL NOT IN THE LIST OF THE FIRST WORLD COUNTRY ALSO. SO WHERE THE THAI GET THE MONEY FROM THERE RAE NO OIL DRILLING IN THAILAND.

Don't have to have oil to be rich. Thailand income from 1. Agriculture, foresty, and fishing. 2. Mining and minerals. 3.Industry and manufacturing. 4. millions Cheap labours without union pay and benefit and insurance and work comp. 5. Tourism. GDP per capita $8,700 GDP by sector Agriculture 11.4%. Industry 44.5% Services 44.1% So the Thai King earns his money by correcting tax .Please, correct me if I am wrong.

Date: May 28, 2010

Dark Angel wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Thai King Tops List of World's Richest Royals With $35B
Friday, August 22, 2008
Print
ShareThis

Reuters

Dec. 5, 2007: Thailand's revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej waves to guests from the balcony of the Grand Palace in Bangkok.
There is a new leader at the helm of Forbes magazine’s regal rich list, with King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, the world’s longest-reigning monarch, knocking the Sultan of Brunei off the top spot, the Times of London reported.
Forbes said that the 80-year-old king had a $35 billion fortune, with his estimated net worth increasing sevenfold during the past year because of the increased transparency of his holdings.
The Sultan of Brunei was one of only two royals to record a surprise fall in wealth, dropping to fourth in the list, despite huge rises in the price of oil and gas.
Forbes rates the fortune of Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, 62, at $20 billion, adding that Brunei’s oilfields were in danger of drying up. “The sultan, who inherited the riches of an unbroken 600-year-old Muslim dynasty, has had to cut back on his country’s oil production because of depleting reserves,” the magazine said.
King Mohammed VI of Morocco was the only other royal to record a decline in wealth, with his estimated worth, mainly in phosphate mining and agriculture, falling 25 per cent to $1.5 billion after the nation was hit by a drought, and economic growth slowed to 2 percent.
Overall, it was a good year for monarchies, Forbes said. “As a group, the world’s 15 richest royals have increased their total wealth to $131 billion, up from $95 billion last year.”
The magazine noted that because many of the royals inherited their wealth, share it with extended families, and often control it “in trust for their nation or territory,” none of those on its list would qualify for the magazine’s famous annual world billionaires ranking.
“Because of technical and idiosyncratic oddities in the exact relationship between individual and state wealth, these estimates are perforce a blend of art and science,” it added.
"While we have tracked the fortunes of a few high-profile royals, like the Queen of England and Sultan of Brunei, for years, this is only the second time we have published a definitive list of the richest royals," Forbes said.
"Monarchs of such countries as Spain and Japan failed to make the cut."
King Bhumibol, 80 years old and the world's longest-reigning monarch after six decades on the throne, is regarded as semi-divine by many Thais, Reuters reported.
Queen Elizabeth II, 82, has slipped one place down the global rich list of kings and queens. She now sits at 12th, with an estimated net worth of $295 million.
Following is Forbes' ranking of the world's richest royals:
1. King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Thailand)
2. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan (United Arab Emirates)
3. King Abdullah (Saudi Arabia)
4. Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah (Brunei)
5. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid al-Maktoum (Dubai)
6. Prince Hans Adam II (Liechtenstein)
7. Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani (Qatar)
8. King Mohammed VI (Morocco)
9. Prince Albert II (Monaco)
10. Sultan Qaboos bin Said (Oman)
11. Prince Karim Al Husseini (Agha Khan)
12. Queen Elizabeth (Britain)
13. Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah (Kuwait)
14. Queen Beatrix (Netherlands)
15. King Mswati III (Swaziland)
Click here to read more on this story from the Times of London.
Click here to read more on this story from Reuters.

See Next Story in World

HOW COULD IT BE THAT THE THAI KING IS RICHER THAN THE KING OF UNITED ARAB AMIRATES , SAUDI ARABIA AND DUBAI WHO HAVE BILLIONS AND BILLIONS BARRELS OF OIL. WHERE THE HELL THE REPORT GOT THOSE INFORMATION FROM ?HOW DOES THE THE THAI KING GET THE MONEY FROM? HELL NO WAY THAT REPROT IS WRONG. THAILAND IS NOT THE FIRST WORLD COUNRTY YET.THAILAND IS NOT RICH AND ALSO NOT POOR AND STILL NOT IN THE LIST OF THE FIRST WORLD COUNTRY ALSO. SO WHERE THE THAI GET THE MONEY FROM THERE RAE NO OIL DRILLING IN THAILAND.

Don't have to have oil to be rich. Thailand income from 1. Agriculture, foresty, and fishing. 2. Mining and minerals. 3.Industry and manufacturing. 4. millions Cheap labours without union pay and benefit and insurance and work comp. 5. Tourism. GDP per capita $8,700 GDP by sector Agriculture 11.4%. Industry 44.5% Services 44.1% So the Thai King earns his money by correcting tax .Please, correct me if I am wrong.

Can I add? you didnt mention about '' tourist industry" and a lot of money comes from the donation from thai people, company and blabla.

Dark Angel · Guru

No

Hannah Beech / Khon Kaen · Date: May 28, 2010

Click here for link to Time article

Raising a Red Flag in Thailand

By Hannah Beech / Khon Kaen Monday, Jun. 07, 2010

revered King Bhumibol

Dabbing a ball of sticky rice into a fiery green-papaya salad, the lady in red blinks back tears. The waterworks aren't from the chilies that give the food of Isaan, Thailand's rural and impoverished northeast, its signature kick. "I am mourning my fellow protesters who were killed by the government like vegetables and fish," says the 50-something native of Chiang Yuen district, referring to the six weeks of battles in Bangkok between Red Shirt demonstrators and security forces that claimed 85 lives in Thailand's worst political violence in decades. "Watch out," she says, issuing a warning that belies her demure manner. "People are going to go underground and fight with arms. This is the beginning of a very long war."

On May 19, as government troops launched a final, deadly offensive to clear out protesters from their central Bangkok encampment, Red Shirt leaders tearfully surrendered to the authorities. But in Isaan, the rice-growing plateau where the antigovernment movement draws its most fervent support, no white flags wave in the dusty air. Anger and defiance are the emotions of the day. Accepting the government's plea for national reconciliation there is as unlikely as meal without chilies. In the city of Khon Kaen, a billboard on a main road is emblazoned with a doctored photo of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, his aristocratic features bruised and battered. Even more chilling, everyone from matronly teachers to small-business owners is openly calling for armed insurrection. "I fear Isaan is going to become a base for an underground movement against state power," says Sutin Klungsang, a former member of parliament for a party aligned with Abhisit's nemesis and Red Shirt spiritual mentor, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. "People are filled with hatred, and we must be prepared for a campaign of terrorism."

How did the Land of Smiles turn into such a nation of hate? Thailand likes to project an image of a cohesive country that triumphed as the only place in Southeast Asia not colonized by Western powers. But revolt has marred Thai history for centuries — and the recent past is no exception. Over the past few years the country's southernmost provinces, where the majority of residents are ethnic Malays, have been plagued by a shadowy Islamic insurgency that has killed more than 4,000 people. Isaan, an ethnic Lao stronghold that makes up one-third of Thailand's population, was the lair of communist guerrillas during the 1960s and '70s. Both regions are now among Thailand's poorest. "To ignore the economic fault line in Thailand and the possibility that this conflict may increasingly be expressed in ethnic terms," says David Streckfuss, an American academic based in Khon Kaen, "is to ignore what's threatening to tear the country apart."

An Unbridgeable Divide
The latest battle lines were drawn in Isaan in 2006 when a military coup dispensed with former Prime Minister Thaksin. The telecom billionaire of Chinese heritage might seem a curious hero for a population of up-country farmers and laborers. But Thaksin, now living abroad rather than serving a corruption-related jail sentence, unveiled populist policies that won over an untapped voter base. Villagers in the north and northeast adored his 30-baht (roughly $1) health care plan and mountains of easy credit — and conveniently ignored the corruption and human rights abuses that took place during his administration. When Thaksin was ousted by the army after months of rallies by Yellow Shirt protesters largely drawn from Bangkok's middle and upper classes, Isaan went into a quiet shock. In the first postcoup elections, rural voters, who outnumber their city cousins, ushered in a Thaksin proxy party. But in December 2008 a controversial court decision forced the dissolution of that party because of electoral misconduct. Abhisit, an Oxford-educated economist, came to power through parliamentary dealmaking. Hundreds of thousands of Isaan residents began to don red shirts.

The crimson-hued protesters' central demand was fresh elections they believe forces loyal to Thaksin will win, just as has happened in recent national polls. But antigovernment crusaders also added lofty ideals of democracy, equality and justice to the mix, and the movement quickly coalesced into a force that sent wave after wave of protesters down to Bangkok. In political classes held across Thailand's north and northeast, Red Shirt leaders delivered Marxist-inspired lectures on class warfare to wide-eyed farmers. It didn't matter that those tending Thailand's rice paddies aren't a starving bunch. Most own cell phones, some even shiny pickup trucks. But they and other rural residents saw the wealth of Bangkok — the glittering malls, the bejeweled women slathered in skin-whitening cream — and wondered why such wonders were beyond their reach.

For the upper echelons of Bangkok — some of whom impugn Isaan natives as "buffaloes" who migrate to the capital only to work as maids, vendors or prostitutes — the Red Shirts' organizational discipline was as mystifying as it was menacing. Today, with up-country passions threatening to turn into an armed underground movement, the Bangkok elite has true cause to be alarmed. Arson unleashed by renegade Red Shirts in the hours after the May 19 crackdown destroyed Thailand's stock exchange, its largest mall and several Bangkok banks. Since then, dozens of schools and other buildings have been attacked across the country. Grenades explode at night. With the Red Shirts' national leaders detained without bail, no one knows exactly who is directing the terror campaign. "The government has forced us to put down our hoses and pick up guns instead," says Sa-at, a rice and cassava farmer who took part in the Bangkok protests. "The land will go up in flames."

It's possible that such incendiary rhetoric will diminish after the last Red Shirt bodies are cremated and farmers return to their fields with the advent of the rainy season. But even Bangkok — like the nation as a whole — is bitterly cleaved between Reds and Yellows. "The divisions run right through society: through communities, families, workplaces and even government offices," says Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra, a member of Abhisit's Democrat Party. "You can't put any cost on the psychological damage that has been done.

On May 23, there was at least one rare show of unity. Thousands of Bangkok residents both poor and rich scrubbed down streets decimated by weeks of protests, fighting and looting. Sukatkul Aroonchai owned a DVD shop inside CentralWorld, the megamall torched by rioters. "I lost everything in the fire," he says, "but I want to help society heal, and helping with the cleanup is one small way that I can do that."

Lingering Resentment
Such fence-mending does not resonate in the Red Shirt heartland. After all, Bangkok residents' grief for a burned-out mall — one Facebook page called "RIP CentralWorld" collected thousands of fans — dwarfed any public lament for the Red Shirts killed during the weeks of urban street fighting. The government's decision on May 25 to charge Thaksin in absentia with terrorism — a crime that can be punished by death — will only further inflame Red Shirts, who continue to insist that nothing but the government's immediate resignation could begin to quell their anger.

Early on in the standoff with the Reds, Abhisit promised elections in November in return for protesters leaving Bangkok. When the Red Shirts refused, the offer was rescinded and Abhisit now says that polls can only be held when calm returns to Thailand. That's not likely to happen anytime soon. "In the future, it will be very dangerous for the Democrats to campaign in Isaan," says former parliamentarian Sutin. "Their safety cannot be guaranteed." Even moderate Isaan residents like Charoenrak Phetpradab, the editor of Isaan Bizweek, can't see a way to bridge the two sides. "I've discovered there is no middle ground," he says. "It's hopeless." Traditionally, up-country Thailand would be set ablaze in the winter to clear fields. Now the fear is that the land may burn year-round.

SJCALSBM3 · Senior Member

"Raising a Red Flag in Thailand

By Hannah Beech / Khon Kaen Monday, Jun. 07, 2010"

WOW... THAILAND IS ALMOST 14 DAYS AHEAD OF EVERYONE ELSE...

Dark Angel · Guru

Soon Thailand will feel the real civil war in the south that will be facing the Muslin terrorists and in the north east and Esan will be the red shirt. Thailand is going down .

Date: May 29, 2010

alexandra bounxouei LAOS

eye_sky · Guru

hopefully everything stabilizes. its such a heartbreaker seeing bangkok in flames. one of my favorite malls in BKK - central world, went in flames. i hardly think "destruction" is an answer to proposing a new leadership, but hey, its their country.

http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2010/05/padada-blooms-and-its-mouth-watering.html

old buff · Veteran Member

Article that reconized North & Northeastern Thais as Lao people.

It should be "recognized".....

Date: May 30, 2010

SJCALSBM3 wrote:

"Raising a Red Flag in Thailand

By Hannah Beech / Khon Kaen Monday, Jun. 07, 2010"

WOW... THAILAND IS ALMOST 14 DAYS AHEAD OF EVERYONE ELSE...

No, the article was written by Nostradamus

Dark Angel · Guru

Anonymous wrote:

Dark Angel wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Thai King Tops List of World's Richest Royals With $35B
Friday, August 22, 2008
Print
ShareThis

Reuters

Dec. 5, 2007: Thailand's revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej waves to guests from the balcony of the Grand Palace in Bangkok.
There is a new leader at the helm of Forbes magazine’s regal rich list, with King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, the world’s longest-reigning monarch, knocking the Sultan of Brunei off the top spot, the Times of London reported.
Forbes said that the 80-year-old king had a $35 billion fortune, with his estimated net worth increasing sevenfold during the past year because of the increased transparency of his holdings.
The Sultan of Brunei was one of only two royals to record a surprise fall in wealth, dropping to fourth in the list, despite huge rises in the price of oil and gas.
Forbes rates the fortune of Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, 62, at $20 billion, adding that Brunei’s oilfields were in danger of drying up. “The sultan, who inherited the riches of an unbroken 600-year-old Muslim dynasty, has had to cut back on his country’s oil production because of depleting reserves,” the magazine said.
King Mohammed VI of Morocco was the only other royal to record a decline in wealth, with his estimated worth, mainly in phosphate mining and agriculture, falling 25 per cent to $1.5 billion after the nation was hit by a drought, and economic growth slowed to 2 percent.
Overall, it was a good year for monarchies, Forbes said. “As a group, the world’s 15 richest royals have increased their total wealth to $131 billion, up from $95 billion last year.”
The magazine noted that because many of the royals inherited their wealth, share it with extended families, and often control it “in trust for their nation or territory,” none of those on its list would qualify for the magazine’s famous annual world billionaires ranking.
“Because of technical and idiosyncratic oddities in the exact relationship between individual and state wealth, these estimates are perforce a blend of art and science,” it added.
"While we have tracked the fortunes of a few high-profile royals, like the Queen of England and Sultan of Brunei, for years, this is only the second time we have published a definitive list of the richest royals," Forbes said.
"Monarchs of such countries as Spain and Japan failed to make the cut."
King Bhumibol, 80 years old and the world's longest-reigning monarch after six decades on the throne, is regarded as semi-divine by many Thais, Reuters reported.
Queen Elizabeth II, 82, has slipped one place down the global rich list of kings and queens. She now sits at 12th, with an estimated net worth of $295 million.
Following is Forbes' ranking of the world's richest royals:
1. King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Thailand)
2. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan (United Arab Emirates)
3. King Abdullah (Saudi Arabia)
4. Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah (Brunei)
5. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid al-Maktoum (Dubai)
6. Prince Hans Adam II (Liechtenstein)
7. Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani (Qatar)
8. King Mohammed VI (Morocco)
9. Prince Albert II (Monaco)
10. Sultan Qaboos bin Said (Oman)
11. Prince Karim Al Husseini (Agha Khan)
12. Queen Elizabeth (Britain)
13. Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah (Kuwait)
14. Queen Beatrix (Netherlands)
15. King Mswati III (Swaziland)
Click here to read more on this story from the Times of London.
Click here to read more on this story from Reuters.

See Next Story in World

HOW COULD IT BE THAT THE THAI KING IS RICHER THAN THE KING OF UNITED ARAB AMIRATES , SAUDI ARABIA AND DUBAI WHO HAVE BILLIONS AND BILLIONS BARRELS OF OIL. WHERE THE HELL THE REPORT GOT THOSE INFORMATION FROM ?HOW DOES THE THE THAI KING GET THE MONEY FROM? HELL NO WAY THAT REPROT IS WRONG. THAILAND IS NOT THE FIRST WORLD COUNRTY YET.THAILAND IS NOT RICH AND ALSO NOT POOR AND STILL NOT IN THE LIST OF THE FIRST WORLD COUNTRY ALSO. SO WHERE THE THAI GET THE MONEY FROM THERE RAE NO OIL DRILLING IN THAILAND.

Don't have to have oil to be rich. Thailand income from 1. Agriculture, foresty, and fishing. 2. Mining and minerals. 3.Industry and manufacturing. 4. millions Cheap labours without union pay and benefit and insurance and work comp. 5. Tourism. GDP per capita $8,700 GDP by sector Agriculture 11.4%. Industry 44.5% Services 44.1% So the Thai King earns his money by correcting tax .Please, correct me if I am wrong.

Can I add? you didnt mention about '' tourist industry" and a lot of money comes from the donation from thai people, company and blabla.

The Thai king is the richest king in the world , the Thai king doesn't need the donation. Even the Thai king doesn' t have oil like the King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia who has trillion barrels of oill,still could be the richest king.

Date: Jun 5, 2010

alexandra bounxouei LAOS

Date: Jun 9, 2010

อ่านกระทู้นี้แล้วนึกว่ากำลังอยู่ในเว้ปฟ้าเดียวกัน ฮ่า ฮ่า

5OCENT · Veteran Member

กระทู้ความอิจฉาไง ประเทศตัวเองไม่มีปัญญาจะปกป้อง ก็แบบนี้แหละ weak ......

Date: Jun 10, 2010

How are my cousins red shirts nowadays no movement at all?

Dark Angel · Guru

No more red shirt only red heart. only counting the dead bodies and the people who were murdered and their bodies were vanished. Well, planned and set up to committed the crime against the humanity by the dictators. Using the snipers to assasinate the political rival and well planned and good set up to force the red shirt to fight back and committed arson and really turn those proteaters to real monsters and then slaughter them.

Date: Jun 11, 2010

I can't imagine how many people will be disappears day by day one by one from now on OH!! Poor E-sarn!!

Dark Angel · Guru

Anonymous wrote:

There is not supprise to somebody , but the rest of the WORLD doesn't know north and north east is original LAO

No suprise even themsleve don' t who they are.If no body tell the new generation the truth who they really are.

-- Edited by Dark Angel on Thursday 17th of June 2010 07:12:14 AM

Dark Angel · Guru

5OCENT wrote:

กระทู้ความอิจฉาไง ประเทศตัวเองไม่มีปัญญาจะปกป้อง ก็แบบนี้แหละ weak ......

That was wrong, we were peaceful people not bully and thieves and robber and barbarian.