RedBull family earns 8 billion USD, surpassing tycoons in Asia

As the world returns to normal life post-COVID, some companies have emerged as big winners, including the world's most famous energy drink brand and the family that holds the formula for it.

The signs are that Red Bull is gaining traction globally, from Singaporeans guzzling it en masse at the ZoukOut music festival, which is being held for the first time in four years, to Londoners choosing Red Bull over coffee before their morning train journey. Red Bull GmbH posted record profits last year, selling more than 11 billion cans and taking the lion’s share of the market.

The Yoovidhya family behind the Red Bull formula from Thailand has made $7.8 billion since January 2022, the most of any tycoon in Asia, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The family was worth $27 billion as of March 14, much of it from its stake in the privately held Red Bull. Most of the world's biggest tycoon families have lost money in the past year amid market turmoil.

According to Simon Chadwick, professor of sport and geopolitical economics at Skema Business School in Paris, energy drinks have always been associated with active lifestyles. As people start exercising and return to long office hours, they will need energy drinks.

Chaleo Yoovidhya, a member of the Yoovidhya family, invented the formula for the caffeine-rich energy drink in the mid-1970s, when he was running a drug business in Thailand and wanted to expand into the consumer market. He called the drink Krating Daeng.

Austrian marketer Dietrich Mateschitz discovered the energy drink helped him deal with jet lag while traveling in Asia. The two men teamed up in 1984 to form Red Bull LLC, turning it into the global brand it is today, with racing and soccer teams and sponsorships for extreme sports like mountain biking and cliff-diving. The company has benefited from the post-pandemic environment, as its products are sold in more bars and restaurants than its competitors, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Kenneth Shea.

The RB7 Formula 1 car during the Red Bull car parade in London on December 10, 2022. Photo: Daniel Leal/AFP/Getty Images

Red Bull has one of the most successful lifestyle marketing strategies in the consumer goods industry, says Howard Telford, beverage manager at consultancy Euromonitor International. That strategy gives Red Bull a strong, premium brand recognition in the competitive beverage category.

The Yoovidhya family owns 51% of Red Bull, with the remaining 49% held by Mateschitz's son, who became Europe's richest Gen Y after Dietrich's death in 2022. The company is headquartered in Austria and is run by the family as a minority shareholder. The Thai family also owns TCP Group, a giant responsible for manufacturing Red Bull energy drinks in Thailand and other Asian markets.

The family has faced controversy. In 2012, Mr. Chaleo’s nephew, Vorayuth, was involved in a hit-and-run in his Ferrari in Bangkok that killed a traffic policeman. The heir, also known as “the tycoon,” avoided prosecution by fleeing Thailand on a private jet in 2017. He and his family have denied the charges, and a Thai court dismissed the case three years ago.

The incident sparked a boycott of Red Bull products in the country, and the prime minister was forced to order a retrial, leading prosecutors to charge Vorayuth with two counts. The law relating to the drug charges has expired. The law on negligent driving causing death expires in 2027. Vorayuth's whereabouts are unknown.

“We all know that the Yoovidhyas will get away with this,” said Yupana Wiwattanakantang, associate professor at the National University of Singapore Business School. She believes the family is just waiting for people to forget about the scandal.

TCP Group declined to comment on the family’s assets and related investigations. The Attorney General’s Office of the Thai Bar Association did not respond to requests for comment.

Vorayuth Yoovidhya (center) in 2012. Photo: Thai Daily News/AP

Their wealth is also drawing attention domestically. In 2021, their family, along with two other tycoon families—the Chearavanonts of the Charoen Pokphand Group and the Chirathivats of the Central Group—had a combined net worth of $69 billion, or 14% of Thailand’s gross domestic product. Per capita income in Thailand that year was less than $7,100.

Many questions remain about who will inherit the family business. TCP Group is currently led by Mr. Saravoot, 53, Chaleo’s son from his second wife, and its board of directors is all family. Although the family owns all the shares in the company, no one from the third generation of the family – the future heirs – is currently involved in running the company. Ms. Yupana said the family may decide to hand over the management of the company to outside experts.

On the Austrian side, Dietrich Mateschitz's son, Mark, has stepped down from the Red Bull Organics board following his father's death, stepping away from the day-to-day running of the company. He has chosen a new board of directors to lead the company.

The next generation will face challenges ranging from increased competition to concerns about market share abuse in Europe and years-long trademark disputes in China.

But for now, Chadwick says, the company remains optimistic. “Red Bull has redefined the energy drink,” he says. “They’ve described it not as something you drink when you’re sick, but as something you drink to get energy. I think we’ll see some big successes from other companies in the fitness and health space.”

Nguyen Quang Minh (According to Bloomberg)

Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/gia-dinh-redbull-thu-ve-8-ty-usd-vuot-mat-cac-tai-phiet-tai-chau-a-a600234.html