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

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.

DO YOU LIKE THIS?

I am a Thai Resident for some 47 years now . Came to Phuket when the Pearl Hotel in town was being built...followed by the Phuket Merlin...opened a Boutique in the first bungalow type petit Resort, cottage type, on Chalong Beach, Rawai, today called " The Evason"...and stayed here ever since. Kata Beach....an absolute dream....Khun Pierre came to Phuket before me, his writings are so interesting. Going through pictures recently, I took out 2 of Kata Beach with nothing in sight but golden sand with on the left (when facing the sea) a few wooden houses, a "hut like cafe" and a few local families living off fishing and the fruit of their land. The main road to Rawai and other villages in Tambon around had no electricity, no telephone. One had to go the city to make phone calls. Then there was a big event at the Pearl Hotel Conference Room, presenting the "Mobira" heavy portable phone. As I had purchased one, it was installed in my BMW to show at the event. When moonson came, getting back home to Kata from Rawai, I was often stuck in the mud as the road was not paved,at times I could manage to keep going, other times a passer by would stop and ask....Chuay Dai Mai? 'll go and get help... and villagers would come to the rescue saying " Madame" let us help you now...and that's the way it was....today, one has to lock one's door when driving or being home....by protecting yourself....you protect others...that's my philosophy.

The Island Lady, 23 Feb 2011 | 5:18 pm

As always well done and very informative. Thanks

Bill Black, 22 Jun 2010 | 8:52 am

The one complaining about the small font must be that old fruit (>>>) ...

Ian, 16 May 2010 | 4:21 pm

Well done Bill

Interesting read

Best regards

Marty

Marty Kaye, 06 Apr 2010 | 10:22 am

Great blog site Bill. Totally agree with your comments re continued negative and inaccurate reports by both international and diplomatic media. Started with the tsunami and has never stopped. How can go about taking their blinkers off?

Harry Usher, 18 Mar 2010 | 2:43 pm

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

Soo Lin, 16 Mar 2009 | 4:06 pm

Great Blog. Informative and objective.

Kathyrine, 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, 15 Mar 2009 | 11:07 am

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

Power, 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, 12 Mar 2009 | 11:58 pm

Congratulations on ThePhuketInsider blog - it looks great.

Duncan, 12 Mar 2009 | 3:10 pm

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

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

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

Craig Rice, 12 Mar 2009 | 3:08 pm

Happy to hear of the launch of the blog.

O. Soltau, 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, 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, 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, 12 Mar 2009 | 2:00 pm