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Thailand disputes report on king

Forbes report on his wealth is held "inaccurate and inconsistent”

Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej

BANGKOK: A Forbes magazine report that lists Thailand’s king as the world’s richest royal is “inaccurate and inconsistent” because it includes vast property holdings as part of his net worth, the Thai Foreign Ministry has said.

Forbes on Wednesday placed Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej at the top of its list of wealthy monarchs with a fortune of $35 billion. He took the top spot from the Sultan of Brunei, whose $20 billion fortune has declined amid cutbacks in the country’s oil production.

But the Ministry of Foreign Affairs disputed those calculations. It argued the report was wrong because it included land and other assets “belonging to the Crown Property Bureau that are not part of the king’s net worth.”

Inaccurate report

“The Crown Property Bureau has clarified that the report is inaccurate and inconsistent,” the Ministry said in a statement. It said the Crown Property Bureau is an institution “which essentially belongs to all Thais” that owns and manages the assets of the monarchy, and the assets are not the personal wealth of the king, The Nation newspaper said. The Ministry did not say what the king’s net worth was.

The Crown Property Bureau has vast land holdings across the country and is one of the largest property owners in Bangkok. It also has a stake in industry heavy-hitters Siam Cement and Siam Commercial Bank.

The Forbes estimate of the king’s wealth follows an article in the February issue of the Journal of Contemporary Asia that estimated the Crown Property Bureau’s assets at $27.4 billion. Forbes said that figure is higher now that Thailand’s currency, the baht, has appreciated.

Longest-serving king

The Forbes report was widely panned in Thailand, where the king is generally revered and criticising him is a crime. Bhumibol celebrated his 80th birthday in December and is the world’s longest-serving monarch.

“Stop [putting out] social junk, especially when you write about foreign countries,” a reader identified as King of King Reverer wrote on the Forbes website in response to the article.

The “Thai King is not the wealthiest king in the world. Please do proper research. He’s the only king in the world who [gives] the most he could to all Thais.”

Praising the king

In Thai Internet discussion groups, most people criticised the report and used the opportunity to praise the king. “How much wealth [the king] has is irrelevant and meaningless,” one reader identified as Thai Texan wrote on Pantip.com, one of the country’s leading Internet discussion sites. “I’m sure the king cares for the well-being of his people.”

The closest anyone came to criticising the king’s wealth was an anonymous reader who posted a link to the country’s Finance Ministry website in response to a suggestion that the monarchy does not receive taxpayer money.

It showed that Thai taxpayers contribute 2 billion baht each year to the monarchy. — AP

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