Thailand’s Richest Man Expands Wealth as Merger Wins Over Investors

Sarath Ratanavadi strengthened his position as Thailand’s richest person, with his wealth buoyed by earnings potential over the near-completion of the merger of his energy and telecom units.

Sarath’s net worth jumped to more than $16 billion after increasing about $7 billion over the past three months, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The gain comes after a 52% rally in shares of Gulf Energy Development Pcl, the nation’s largest power producer, and vaults him into the top five in Asia’s energy and power sector, a group that includes India’s Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani.