Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha

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Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha (2010)

Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha ( Thai : วิชัย ศรี วัฒน ประภา; RTGS : Wichai Siwatthanaprapha , until 2012 Vichai Raksriaksorn , Thai : วิชัย รัก ศรีอักษร; RTGS : Wichai Raksi-akson ; born on June 5, 1958 in Bangkok ; died on October 27, 2018 in Leicester , United Kingdom ) was a Thai entrepreneur and founder of King Power Duty Free , an international group of duty free shops . The billionaire Vichai had since 2010 owner of the English Premier League playing Leicester City Football Club .

Entrepreneur

Vichai was the founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of King Power Duty Free , an operator of duty free shops . The company emerged from a duty-free shop he opened in the center of Bangkok in 1989 , until the turn of the millennium Vichai was only a medium-sized entrepreneur. The Thaksin Shinawatra government has given King Power an exclusive license for duty-free trading at the newly built Suvarnabhumi Airport and a concession for all retail trade at the airport, which is due to run until the end of 2020. In December 2009 King Power was appointed purveyor to the court by King Bhumibol Adulyadej in a solemn ceremony in which Srivaddhanaprabha represented the company . This award is given in Thailand to companies that have made an exceptional contribution to the country's economic and social development.

The business magazine Forbes ranked Vichai among the 10 richest Thai people for the first time in 2015 . In June 2018 estimated his fortune to 5 billion US dollars , which he was on the list of richest Thais on the fifth and 388th in the world space.

Soccer

Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha belonged to a consortium of Asian investors with his son Aiyawatt , which in August 2010 bought the football club Leicester City , which plays in England's second division , for a price of 39 million British pounds . In February 2011 he took over the office of president of the association from Milan Mandarić , Aiyawatt became deputy president. In July 2011, Leicester City 's football stadium, previously named after the British-Irish food manufacturer Walkers, was renamed King Power Stadium . Vichai was very popular with Leicester City fans.

On the occasion of winning the English soccer championship in the 2015/16 season , shortly before the start of the 2016/17 season , Vichai gave 19 players a BMW i8 with a special paint job in the club color blue valued at 100,000 British pounds each.

In May 2017, Vichai acquired its second football club, the Belgian second division club Oud-Heverlee Löwen, through its group of companies .

polo

Vichai Raksriaksorn playing polo at Ham Polo Club (2010)

In his spare time, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha was a passionate polo player . From 2008 to 2012 he was Honorary President of the Ham Polo Club in London . With the help of professionals from Argentina, he made the King Power Team one of the best polo teams in Great Britain. He also played in polo tournaments with Prince Charles and Prince William . Vichai was the owner of the VR Polo Club in Bangkok and a promoter of polo in Thailand. The Thai Polo Association is located in the King Power Complex.

Private life

Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha was born into a family of Thai people of Chinese descent . He was married to Aimon Srivaddhanaprabha until his death and the couple had four children together. The son Aiyawatt was his deputy in several companies of his father. In 2012, the King of Thailand, Bhumibol Adulyadej , gave the Raksriaksorn family the new name of Srivaddhanaprabha. The name means light of increasing glory in the Thai language . To give a new family name to families who have made a name for themselves in the kingdom or the royal family is one of King Rama VI. Tradition established at the beginning of the 20th century.

Vichai was a close friend of the politician Newin Chidchob , former head of the Bhumjaithai party and since 2009 owner and president of the Thai football club Buriram United . King Power is also a main sponsor at Buriram United.

On October 27, 2018 at around 8:30 p.m. local time, about an hour after the final whistle of a Leicester City home game, Vichai's AgustaWestland AW169 helicopter took off as usual in the interior of the King Power Stadium. Shortly after taking off, the machine crashed into a parking lot directly in front of the stadium and burned out. Vichai and the four other inmates were killed.

Web links

Commons : Vichai Raksriaksorn  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha. In: Forbes . October 28, 2018. Retrieved October 28, 2018 .
  2. ↑ a b Orlando Crowcroft: V for Vichai: How Leicester City's Thai owner wurde a billionaire - on a blessing and a prayer. In: International Business Times . April 15, 2016. Retrieved October 28, 2018 .
  3. ↑ Vichai Raksriaksorn named Leicester City chairman. In: BBC Sport . February 10, 2011, accessed October 28, 2018 .
  4. ↑ Leicester rename Walkers Stadium the King Power Stadium. In: BBC Sport. July 5, 2011, accessed October 28, 2018 .
  5. ^ Martin Crowson: Leicester City players given £ 100,000 BMW i8 for Premier League win. In: Leicestershire Live. August 5, 2016, accessed August 10, 2018 .
  6. ↑ Sam Wallace: Leicester City owner buys Belgian club OH Leuven. In: Daily Telegraph . May 17, 2017. Retrieved October 28, 2018 .
  7. ↑ Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, the man who took Leicester to title triumph. In: Mail Online. Retrieved October 29, 2018 .
  8. ^ Raphael Honigstein: Mourning Leicester Owners: Real Love. In: Spiegel Online. October 29, 2018, accessed October 29, 2018 .
  9. ^ Gareth A. Davies: Leicester City owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and son looking for 'double' with Cartier Queen's Cup inclusion . May 6, 2014, ISSN  0307-1235 ( telegraph.co.uk [accessed October 29, 2018]).
  10. ^ Polo - King Power Official . In: King Power Official . ( kingpower.com [accessed October 29, 2018]).
  11. ↑ Oliver Holmes: The Thai billionaire whose gamble on Leicester just paid off. In: The Guardian . May 4, 2016. Retrieved October 28, 2018 .
  12. ^ Royal Honor For City Owners. In: lcfc.com. February 1, 2013, accessed October 28, 2018 .
  13. ^ " Chang Noi ": Newinomics. Is the power broker moving forward to the past? In: The Nation , September 6, 2010.
  14. ^ Leon Mann: Sven-Goran Eriksson aiming high at Leicester City. BBC Sport, 4th August 2011.
  15. ↑ Leicester City owner 'on board crashed helicopter' , BBC News, October 28, 2018, accessed October 28, 2018.
  16. ^ John Percy et al .: Leicester City owner 'on board' as helicopter crashes in King Power Stadium car park , The Telegraph , October 28, 2018, accessed October 28, 2018.
  17. ↑ Leicester City confirm chairman's death , BBC.com, accessed October 28, 2018.
Note on Thai names : This article addresses people by their first name.
personal data
SURNAME Srivaddhanaprabha, Vichai
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Raksriaksorn, Vichai (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Thai entrepreneur
DATE OF BIRTH 5th June 1958
PLACE OF BIRTH Bangkok , Thailand
DATE OF DEATH October 27, 2018
Place of death Leicester , England , UK