May 12, 2020
The Yoovidhya Family of Thailand started from humble beginnings. Chaleo Yoovidhya, grandfather of Vorayuth Yoovidhya was the son of a duck seller. He founded TC Pharmaceutical in 1956 and spent decades developing various consumable products, including various drinks.
In the 1980s, an Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz visited Thailand for business and tried Chaleo’s newest energy drink, called Krating Daeng (Thai for “Red Bull”). Mateschitz loved the drink so much, he offered Chaleo a partnership. Both would invest $500,000 USD each to carbonate the drink and market it globally, according to The Walrus. Mateschitz and Chaleo both knew each other from past business dealings so the trust was there.
By 1987, Red Bull Energy Drink launched globally and the Yoovidhya family fortune skyrocketed. Red Bull today is sold in more than 171 countries and is ranked #71 World’s Most Valuable Brands in 2019 by Forbes. Red Bull has an annual sales of $6.5 billion USD and is worth $10 billion. The Yoovidhya family is worth over $13 billion USD.
Vorayuth Yoovidhya, aka “Boss,“ the grandson of Chaleo Yoovidhya, raced his Ferrari down Sukumvit Road in Bangkok, Thailand in the early morning of September 3, 2012, and slammed into a motorcycle cop, Sergeant Major Wichean Glanprasert. Boss dragged Glanprasert and his tangled bike for a block before letting loose and fleeing the scene.
Authorities rushed to the scene and found Glanprasert’s lifeless body in the street with a trail of brake fluid that eventually lead directly to the Yoovidhya family residence front gate. There, police discovered the damaged Ferrari with a dangled bumper and shattered windshield. Police initially blamed the chauffeur, but Boss later admitted to the accident and turned himself in.
Once Boss arrived at the police stationed, they checked his blood alcohol level. It was high, to say the least. However, Boss’s lawyers argued he downed a few drinks to calm his nerves after the accident. He was immediately able to post bail and leave the station.
Within days, Boss left Thailand for good on his private Red Bull jet and decided to travel the world and “reflect” on what he did. He has been sited all across Europe, from cheering on his Red Bull Infiniti Racing team at Formula One to walking out of nightclubs at 2 am with supermodels on both arms in London, Paris, Barcelona, etc…Boss also keeps a custom black Porsche Carrera with vanity plates that read B055 RBR, or Boss Red Bull Racing.
Thai courts have issued countless summons to appear and Boss hasn’t shown up to any of them. He was either “sick” or “out of the country on business.” Boss is basically waiting for the Thai statute of limitations to expire for his charges. Speeding, hit-and-run, causing death from reckless driving. Interpol issued an arrest warrant in 2017, but that doesn’t really mean anything. About the time Boss was notified about the Interpol arrest warrant, he was having a glass of wine with Gordon Ramsay and then visited the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Osaka, Japan, according to The Walrus.
Feature images via Facebook & Red Bull