Billionaires Lead Phuket's Top 5 Rich and Famous Villa List

Last updated: Fri 27 Mar, 2009 12:04 am

Thailand’s resort island of Phuket is fast becoming the place for the rich and famous in search of tropical island living coupled with great investment. According to the latest story by the leading hotel and real estate BLOG thephuketinsider.com, two of Forbes Magazines leading billionaires have uber luxury villas in Phuket. The Top 5 List is:

1. New Zealand’s wealthiest brothers, Richard and Christopher Chandler (one brother formerly CEO of the Sovereign Group) with a fortune valued at over US$ 2 billion according to Forbes.

2. Canadian Robert Friedland,of Ivanhoe Energy and Mines, with Forbes reporting a net worth of US$1.4 billon.

3. Hong Kong’s Allan Zeman, who is regarded as the Father of Lang Kwai Fong. While his personal worth remains undisclosed he is highly ranked amongst Asia’s most wealthy and influential businessmen.

4. Finnish Formula One star Kimi Raikkonen, is the latest addition, earning a reported US$ 44 million per year and ranked by Forbes as the 5th highest paid sports star and 26th highest paid celebrity.

5. The British Binatone Founder, Gulu Lalvani, rounds out the list with his globetrotting celebrity and multi-million dollar personal fortune.

thephuketinsider.com blog ‘The Source for All Hotel & Real Estate News’, was launched this week by Bill Barnett, the well known property columnist, hospitality consultant and Managing Director of C9 Hotelworks who is based in Phuket.

"Our passion is to provide independent and intelligent news and commentary on the rapidly developing Greater Phuket storyline. You won’t find banner ads, hotel bargains, condos for sale or Google AdWords on the site, it is purely relevant information as it happens without the mass commercialization," commented Bill Barnett.

That's funny, I've never seen ANY of those guys in the SuPPer Club....

Soo Lin, Mon 16 Mar, 2009 4:06 pm

Great Blog. Informative and objective.

Kathyrine, Sun 15 Mar, 2009 11:17 pm

I took as look at the site - looks extremely good (slick, clean-lined and uncluttered) and is crammed with info. It deserves to achieve its aim.

Chris From Australia, Sun 15 Mar, 2009 11:07 am

...and they all eat at The Siam Supper Club...if of course they can get a booking!!

Power, Fri 13 Mar, 2009 4:04 pm

Phuket is turning into a new rich mans paradise. Which means, my money will go elsewhere. Regardless, interesting blog but just one thing. Please do something about the letter spacing it makes my eyes bleed.

Bill Barnett responds: Thanks for the comments. We have changed over the type of the blog to ariel and now improving the colors on the site to make it easier to read, these will be done next week. On moving from Phuket, the world has a lot of great destinations so we salute the variety on offer out there...

Jimmy, Thu 12 Mar, 2009 11:58 pm

Congratulations on ThePhuketInsider blog - it looks great.

Duncan, Thu 12 Mar, 2009 3:10 pm

It is really really exellent! Congratulations….look out Wolf Blitzer.

Andrew J., Thu 12 Mar, 2009 3:09 pm

Your new Phuketinsider Blog looks good. Great idea. Nice layout.

Craig Rice, Thu 12 Mar, 2009 3:08 pm

Happy to hear of the launch of the blog.

O. Soltau, Thu 12 Mar, 2009 3:07 pm

Well done Bill. Just like to add my two pence worth to the undoubted support and approval you will have received with the progression of your Gazette column to your own 'Blog' as the Gazette describes it. Seems to me more like a valuable source of hotel property and development news, rather than a mundane blog. I have been a big fan of your Gazette column since the first.
Alan

Alan Cooke, Thu 12 Mar, 2009 3:06 pm

Good initiative.
But will you cover rental business as well?
We started a company for renting out houses and apartments for swedish people, a really good business. We have had about 500 people living in our houses the first season. I think it will grow for the next year.

Bill Barnett responds: Thanks Pierre. Yes rentals are becoming a force to be reckoned with in the market and quality as well as pricing is on the rise. I believe this segment will continue to grow its market share and also become a competing force against the traditional hotel market in the coming years as it offers great value for money.

Pierre, Thu 12 Mar, 2009 3:05 pm

It matters a lot when did you first see Phuket. As a high school student in Penang, I first came to Phuket in early 1960s on a tin barge from Penang to Phuket with my native Phuket classmates whose families still remain powerfully rich, but very low profile. Phuket had about 60,000 population. There was no road from Phuket town to Patong and we boys had to go there by bicycles. There was no Sarasin Bridge, a ferry shuttling between Thachatchai and Thanun. It took almost 9 hours from Thachatchai to Phuket town because the charcoal steamed bus would stop so frequently to pick up and drop off passengers, and to top up charcoal and water.
No modern convenience but life was serene and Phuket was just spectacularly beautiful everywhere. We saw flocks of hornbill birds flying overhead and sea water, east coast/west coast was pristine and peoples sincere and simple.
With the luxurious housing taking over all beachfront properties, the locals could no longer go picnic and swim like in good old days. The overall scenery is spoiled with so many houses on the beaches and cliffs. Worst of all, without proper water treatment enforcement, the marine life is dying. It is impossible to restore Phuket back to its former natural splendor. I just hope developers and the authority will take measures to stop further deterioration.
Westerners like to say Thais are irresponsible, dishonest and greedy. Patong is the breeding ground of all these bad cultures, taught by westerners who come here to "rejuvenate" by having young Thai girls and low living costs. Poverty can be so hard that a girl is willing to marry an ugly old westerner. Unreasonable with superior complex, wanting good service for free, such persons will certainly meet dishonest and cheating Thai men who must make ends meet.

Sint, Thu 12 Mar, 2009 2:00 pm

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