The Chirathivat family (Thai: จิราธิวัฒน์, pronounced [tɕìrāːtʰíwát]) is a Thai family of Chinese descent. The family was headed by Tiang Chirathivat (simplified Chinese: 郑心平; traditional Chinese: 鄭心平; pinyin: Zhèng Xīnpíng; 1905–1968), who migrated to Siam from Hainan and settled in Bangkok in 1927. Tiang's original Chinese surname was Cheng.[1] He had 26 children with three wives that resulted in roughly 220 descendants today. Fifty-one are currently involved in the business.[2] His descendants jointly own and manage the Central Group, and are ranked third on Forbes' list of Thailand's fifty richest.[3]
| Chirathivat จิราธิวัฒน์ Saejeng | |
|---|---|
| Parent family | Zheng family |
| Current region | Bangkok |
| Place of origin | Hainan, China |
| Founded | 1927 |
| Founder | Tiang Chirathivat |
| Current head | Tos Chirathivat |
| Connected families | House of Kitiyakara Hongsakula family |
| Heirlooms | Central Group |
The Central Group owns more than 60 department stores and shopping malls. It also operates hotels and restaurants, with a total of 5,000 outlets.[2] The Chirathivat family bought the upscale Italian department store chain, La Rinascente, for a reputed US$291 million. The purchase was announced in May 2011 by Tos Chirathivat, a Central Group executive.[4] In 2020, the Central Group announced the purchase of the Swiss luxury department store Globus alongside other assets for more than US$1 billion in a joint venture with the Austrian Signa, which announced insolvency in November 2023.[5]
Notable members edit
References edit
- ^ "Rise of Retail, Thai Style". Wesleyan University Magazine. 20 December 2008. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
- ^ a b Ono, Yukako (10 September 2017). "For Thailand's retail giant Central Group, it is no longer all in the family". Nikkei Asian Review. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
- ^ "Thailand's 50 Richest: #3 Chirathivat family". Forbes.com. June 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
- ^ "Central Retail to Expand La Rinascente Stores After Acquisition". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on 2012-07-16. Retrieved 2017-08-04.
- ^ "Central in $1bn venture to buy Swiss mall". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 2021-02-07.
External links edit
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