Chaleo Yoovidhya
{{Short description|Thai businessman (1923–2012)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Chaleo Yoovidhya
| native_name = เฉลียว อยู่วิทยา
| native_name_lang = th
| image = Chaleo Yoovidhya (1923–2012).jpg
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1923|8|17}}
| birth_place = Ratchaburi, Siam{{cite web|url=https://mgronline.com/daily/detail/9550000037467|work=ASTV Manager|language=thai|date=2025-02-24|accessdate=2012-03-24|title=ย้อนตำนานเจ้าพ่อกระทิงแดง 'เฉลียว อยู่วิทยา' มหาเศรษฐีหัวใจคุณธรรม}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2012|3|17|1923|8|17}}
| death_place = Bangkok, Thailand
| known_for = {{ubl|Creating Krating Daeng|Co-founding Red Bull GmbH}}
| occupation = {{hlist|Businessman|investor}}
| spouse = Noklek Sodsri (divorced)
Bhavana Langdhara
| children = 11, including Chalerm
}}
Chaleo Yoovidhya ({{langx|th|เฉลียว อยู่วิทยา}}, {{RTGS|Chaliao Yuwitayaa}}, {{IPA|th|t͡ɕʰā.lǐa̯w jùː.wít.tʰā.jāː|pron}}; {{zh|s=許書標|p=Xǔ Shūbiāo}}; 17 August 1923 – 17 March 2012){{cite news|title=Chaleo Yoovidhya|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/9153867/Chaleo-Yoovidhya.html|access-date=9 January 2018|work=The Telegraph|date=2012-03-19|format=Obituary}} was a Thai businessman and investor. He was the originator of Krating Daeng ({{lang|th|กระทิงแดง}}) and co-creator of the Red Bull brand of energy drinks. At the time of his death in 2012 at the age of 88, he was listed as the third-richest person in Thailand, with an estimated net worth of US$5 billion.{{cite web|url=http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/284794/chaleo-yuwitthaya-dies-at-90|title=Chaleo Yuwitthaya dies at 90|work=Bangkok Post|access-date=17 March 2012}}{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/chaleo-yoovidhya |title=Chaleo Yoovidhya dies |date=March 2012|work=Forbes |access-date=17 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120318072355/http://www.forbes.com/profile/chaleo-yoovidhya/ |archive-date=18 March 2012 |quote=Net Worth $5B As of March 2012 #205 Forbes Billionaires, #3 in Thailand |url-status=dead }}
Background
Various news sources suggest Chaleo was born in central Thailand at some point between 1922 and 1932.{{cite news|last1=Segal|first1=David|title=Chaleo Yoovidhya, Who Created Red Bull Beverage, Is Dead| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/19/business/chaleo-yoovidhya-dies-created-red-bull-energy-drink.html|access-date=9 January 2018|work=The New York Times|date=2012-03-18|format=Obituary}} The New York Times notes that three birthdates have been put forward by different sources: The Nation, a Thai newspaper, reported that he was 90, while several other news media outlets in Thailand said he was 88. Forbes recently put his age at 80." BBC News states, "Mr Chaleo was born of poor Chinese immigrant parents in the northern province of Phichit, reportedly in 1932, local media say."{{cite news|title=Red Bull creator and Thai tycoon Chaleo Yoovidhya dead|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-17416385|access-date=9 January 2018|work=BBC News|date=2012-03-17}} The Australian and Time say he was 89.{{cite news|title=Thai billionaire inventor of Red Bull Chaleo Yoovidhya dies aged 89|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/thai-billionaire-inventor-of-red-bull-chaleo-yoovidhya-dies-aged-89/news-story/8cbdc736278663f6f07439c15730891d|access-date=9 January 2018|work=The Australian|date=2012-03-19|format=Obituary}}{{cite magazine|last1=Horn|first1=Robert|title=Duck Farmer to Billionaire: Red Bull Co-Founder Dies|url=https://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2109386,00.html|access-date=9 January 2018|magazine=Time|date=2012-03-18|format=Obituary}} The Telegraph and The Independent say he was born in 1923 to a poor Thai Chinese family that raised ducks and traded fruit in Phichit.{{cite news|last1=Childs|first1=Martin|title=Chaleo Yoovidhya: Recluse who created the Red Bull energy drink|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/chaleo-yoovidhya-recluse-who-created-the-red-bull-energy-drink-7579362.html|access-date=9 January 2018|work=The Independent|date=2012-03-21|format=Obituary}} His father was an immigrant from Hainan.[https://www.hongniufacts.com Hong Nui China]
With little formal education, he worked for his parents, then moved to Bangkok. He became an antibiotics salesman, before quitting to set up his own small pharmaceutical company, TC Pharmaceuticals, in the early-1960s.{{cite web|title=History|url=https://www.tcp.com/en/about/history.php#1956-1967|website=T.C. Pharma (TCP)|access-date=9 January 2018|archive-date=24 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724204908/https://www.tcp.com/en/about/history.php#1956-1967|url-status=dead}} Later, after a claimed stroke of "divine inspiration", he developed an energy-boosting beverage that was first introduced in 1976. The logo depicts two large red bulls charging each other. The bulls are not cattle, but wild gaur, a bovine species native to Southeast Asia and called krathing ({{lang|th|กระทิง}}) in Thai.
Dietrich Mateschitz, an Austrian salesman for a German company, found the drink cured his jet lag, and entered into partnership with Chaleo in 1984. In 1987, the two launched an export version labelled "Red Bull", for which Chaleo provided the original formula (adapted for Western tastes under Mateschitz's guidance{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VrO3O0h6I0wC |title=Asian Brand Strategy: How Asia Builds Strong Brands |last1=Roll |first1=Martin |isbn=9780230513068 |page=199 |publisher=Springer |date=17 October 2005 |access-date=24 September 2012}}), and Mateschitz the marketing. Each put up US$500,000 for 49 per cent of the Red Bull energy drink franchise, with Chaleo's son, Chalerm, owning the remaining two per cent. Chaleo continued to own TC Pharmaceuticals, which manufactured other energy drinks in Thailand, and was also part-owner of Piyavate Hospital, a private hospital in Thailand, and co-owner of the sole authorized importer of Ferrari sports cars into Thailand.
Death
Chaleo died in Bangkok on 17 March 2012.
See also
- Death of Wichian Klanprasert, a case in which Chaleo's grandson Vorayuth Yoovidhya was involved
References
{{Reflist|2}}
{{Red Bull}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yoovidhya, Chaleo}}
Category:Year of birth unknown
Category:Businesspeople in the pharmaceutical industry