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Subscribe to RSSBANGKOK -- The self-made Thai billionaire who created the renowned Red Bull energy drink three decades ago has died, state media in Thailand reported Saturday. He was 89.
Thai state television broadcaster MCOT said that Chaleo Yoovidhya died of natural causes on Saturday. It cited an executive at the Thai Beverage Industry Association.
The Bangkok Post reported that he died at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn Hospital.
Chaleo founded T.C. Pharmaceuticals. In the 1970s, it formulated an energy drink prototype called Krathing Daeng, or Red Bull in English. It was popular among Thai truck drivers and laborers.
Chaleo then co-founded a company in 1984 with an Austrian partner who helped turn Red Bull into a global brand.
Chaleo was the 205th richest man in the world with a net worth of $5 billion, according to Forbes magazine's 2012 ranking. The Bangkok Post said that he was the third richest man in Thailand.
Religious rites were expected to begin Sunday and continue through until March 24 at Wat Kreuwal Voraviharn, the newspaper said.
Msnbc.com staff and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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i wonder if his casket will look like a red bull can.
He thought he was funny when he made his blasphemous video, mocking Jesus Christ 2 days ago. God will NOT be mocked...his billions wont even buy him a drop of water, where he REALLY needs it right now...
Hmm, a soft drink invented by a pharmaceutical company? Yummy! No wonder I've always avoided it.
branxoz....
Why does he need water? He is dead and did not share your afterlife fantasy. "God will NOT be mocked" wooo scary stuff.
He was a buddhist monk therefore he probably does not believe in Jesus Christ.
Jager bombs will be consumed in his honor today.
Whoo Hoo!
I literally had a Jager Bomb this morning for breakfast!
It was out of left field. I woke up and said on this St. Paddy's day I will start with a Jager Bomb.
Hadn't had one in years.
hey branxoz; how does it feel to have the entire internet think you are an idiot?
I'm sure the man had an advertising company and didn't make these ads himself.
No, I don't think you're an idiot either.
I found that the new red bull video funny and true. It's been proven that no one can walk on water unless it's frozen. As for the billionaire I'll miss him.
Branx-I agree with you.Did you know that if a person in hell drinks a glass of water,that feels like heaven to them?
@rrobeson- Coca Cola was developed by a pharmicist. Many of the old soft drinks were formulated and sold in drug stores as pick-me-ups or for health cures, and Coke and 7 Up had ingredients they don't have today.
RED BULL gives you wings !!!
Well, guess he's finding out whether or not that's truly the case about now!
Did he really? That is exactly what happend to Marilyn Monroe. Billy Graham went to see her at her apartment because God told him to go there. She basically told him" I don't need your Jesus". One week later she was found dead in her apartment.
Unhappy, where did you get that story about Marilyn Monroe? I have never heard it and do not believe it is true.
i believe that she was found dead in a house in Brentwood, Ca. not an apartment.
Then he would at least have respect as a monk. No he was probably atheist, they like to hurt others.
where do these people come up with this utter bullshyte?
i don't understand why everybody is saying such hurtful things here. a man just died and, unlike terrorists or dictators, was the founder of a now-globalized company (like a certain steve jobs?).
shame on you bad-mouthers! please show some respect to the deceased.
that was the advertising compnay. it is doubtful the old guy ever even knew that ad was being made.
but certain "christians" sure sound a hell of a lot like the taliban. can't tell the difference in some cases, same old BS coming out of their mouths.
Was just about to respond to danwill's post. This is about a pharmicist that created a energizing soft drink, much as Dr John S Pemberton did over 126 years ago with Coca-cola. Neither had any ill will towards mankind, but sought to better our plight by easing our burdens as any self respecting physician would with the current remedies at hand. Let's not bring world politics into it...
Probably the same place where people come up with 'all religious people are sheeple and can't think for themselves.'
The majority of Atheists are fine people who wouldn't hurt others because they 'like' to, just as the majority of people who are religious can and do think for themselves and are capable of respecting others opinions. It's just the minority of the two that shout the loudest and are heard.
generally true, most of the religious that I know can think just fine, but there are a few...
Well, at least we know he's in heaven, "Red Bull gives you wings."
Still, hard to believe this little drink started the whole energy drinks craze.
Somewhere up there is a lost old man thinking that he drank one can too many....
I wonder if it "Gave him wings".
We all knew someone was going to say it...
I puked up Red Bull before, after drinking, because it tastes like crap. Other times, when I could stomach it, I never felt the "energy" boost. I think people should just do cocaine if they have no other option and RedBull doesn't work for them. Works for me.
Red Bull is nasty and has sent many to the ER- I'm betting this guy didn't drink his own products to have lived this long
I'm betting nobody FORCED anyone to buy and drink his products.
I'm betting nobody FORCED anyone to buy and drink his products.
I'm betting nobody FORCED anyone to buy and drink his products.
You can say that again.
The one time I tried an energy drink, my heart felt like it was beating out of my chest. I have seen people go psychotic from overuse.
Jim-687399
As someone who has been down that road in younger years, I say that is not a good idea.
I second the motion, sonar guy. As a friend of mine used to say (used to say, because he's dead), "Every time I do a line, I feel like a new man. Unfortunately, that new man wants a line too." Rest in peace, J.K.
Denver bill2 - Perfectly said. Did he copyright the line? Otherwise Apple would for its product and you may not be able to use it anywhere else.
I'd say he must've avoided his own product, since it didn't say that he died either of caffiene poisoning or excessive levels of taurine.
Cocaine kills.
Cosby said that a buddy of his told him that cocaine made you more of what you are. Cosby said "What if you're an ass hole?" lol
Hey it's only bad if you get addicted to it ;)
If he approved that Red Bull ad campaign that made the news recently, he may have a tough time getting through the pearly gates.
He was a Buddhist so he probably didn't give a @!$%# about "pearly gates"
Could it screw up his reaching Nirvana, then?
Then I guess he didn't give a @!$%# about "karma".
I'd like to think God isn't that spiteful.
naah, if it messed up his karma, he would just be reincarnated as something lower, a dog or horse or something.
if you do something really bad you come back as a dung beetle or intestinal bacteria, etc.
When will we learn. Make the world better. Invest some of that wealth in health discoveries and maybe he'd be around running 100m races now. We know not what culture or race will invent stuff next.
Austrians believe they invented it-thanks for the truth..............
actually koreans had a simular drink called Baccus D that was out even before redbull ,it tasted very simular ,its all good
"good" in what sense?
He OD'd on Red Bull...
My grandson almost did. It's not funny nor is it fun to see a 22 yr. old with tubes sticking out of his body.
I don't drink red bull because it is terrible for you, but if I did, I wouldn't drink enough to OD on. I have what is called common sense. Potable2 was simply making a joke, granted it was a lame joke, but none the less a joke.
You probably already know this, but Red Bull was not the only thing he drank that night that lead to the hospital.
Regardless of all the jokes and negative comments about Red Bull, his company's support of motorsports around the world is nothing short of amazing! This guy must have grown up racing scooters in the streets of Bangkock!!!
Sadly he didn't live long enough to see the latest stunt sponsored by his soft drink. That guy Baumgartner is going to break the record for highest human skydive. He's going up into the stratosphere with a balloon and a space suit and jumping out. Guess we're in the future. Red Bull's besting a stunt that's only ever been done by the space program.
They do that, but pull out of the high-tech extravaganza that IS NASCAR? Oh, how could they ever do it? </snark>
R.I.P....Mr.Chaleo.....Good Servant!
His wealth goes to show how many people are feeling like they need a boost.
That points to people's general health.
Drinking Red Bull is like sticking a cattle prod into a sick cow to make it move along.
Actually, the original article quoted by MSNBC says he was 80, not 89. Born in 1932. Let's see.... 2012 minus 1932.... yup, he was 80. Gotta pay more attention when copying news from other media sources.
that sht is too expensive.i will have my coffee thanks...
Now if they were really on top of it they would issue a special anniversery "GreenBull" to honor the Founders passing on or about St. Patricks day.......just saying.
R.I.P. Mr. Yoovidhya . . . your invention has spawned an empire! Automotive fans are grateful for the sponsorship.
Yes, a thousand times "thank you!"
he finally drank one right?
I WONDER HOW MANY CHILDREN'S LIVES WILL be shortened due to their STUPID excessive drinking of this product which overWORKS the adrenals??? There is ALWAYS a price to be paid for UnNatural - but the Mafia sure won't want you to know about it - OOOPs I mean the Government.
Red Bull spends huge amounts of money sponsoring two Formula One teams, not to mention other forms of motor sports, as well as various other extreme sports. It's interesting to see some of the F1 drivers drinking from large cans of Red Bull just before the start of a race... I'd be willing to bet that some of those RB cans contain plain old water, or maybe Gatorade. An F1 driver can loose up to 6 lbs over the course of a Grand Prix race, especially in a hot climate. I can't see how RB would enhance performance in someone who is fit, well rested, and at the top of their game... besides the fact that it tastes like crap. They do sell a ton of the stuff though. You have to wonder what the long term health effects are for people who drink it everyday.
Not really sure just what crap tastes like since I've spend a lifetime avoiding finding out, but anybody who says that they drink Red Bull for the taste probably has a daddy who insisted that he "read" Playboy only for the articles!
What many people will never know or appreciate is that the popular Red Bull drink sold in cans, in the Western world, tastes nothing like the original "Krating (Bull) Daeng (Red)" made in Thailand, and sold in it's original small glass bottle container. The
The original bottle version is much better than the can version and can be found in small mom-n-pop asian grocery stores. The bottle version is non-carbonated and sweeter in taste.
No matter how they package it, it still is swill. Caffeine-laden swill, but swill nonetheless. I guess there's a big market for swill. After all, people drink Budweiser in vast quantities.
Ol' Bean has his wings now.
never tried it......knew that stuff would kill ya!!! LOL
Funny I thought he was a RailRoad Worker. He was always laying Thais
So was an old Naval Aviator I knew, then. That's so bad that it's really priceless!
I guess i thought it would be more than 5 billion. but in thai bhat omg look out bangkok !! he he i said bang kok ...
The man finally got his wings!
Yeah, the wings are on the flies that laid their eggs on his corpse
momfool, D is just playing on the red bull slogan. "it gives you wings"
Personally, I never tried the stuff and feel that I don't need it. But, it really goes to show what advertising can do to a product. Just imagine the millions spent on advertising Red Bull. Like everything else, if you can afford to advertise the Sh*t out of a product, millions will believe it to be some elixir from who knows where. Having said that, all the more power to him who is successful.
Big Ed: if you advertise enough, people will believe mouse turds are the greatest product in the world. Heck, it works for Willard Romney, and Red Bull isn't even 1% as bad for you.