BANGKOK -- Thailand's richest billionaires and their wives filled an ornate hall in Bangkok's sprawling Dusit Palace complex. In the front row of the gaggle, 20 people: The men dressed in white, military-style uniforms used for royal audiences, their wives in Thai-style, powder-blue long-sleeved blouses and wraps of Thai silk that shimmered in the brightly lit gilded room.
Sarath Ratanavadi, Thailand's new energy king, built his fortune via his power company, Gulf Energy. A man of mystery, he is rarely photographed and keeps his affairs private. © Illustration by Hiroko Oshima
The Big Story
Thailand's billionaire boom: the rise of Sarath Ratanavadi
How the energy tycoon shot to fortune in Asia's most unequal country
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