• 
• 

Published on March 3, 2008

That is why the world is hailing Bill Gates, king of the software world, who is depicted in an uncharitable way in the Hollywood movie "Barbarians at the Gate". The film told of the younger days of the billionaire who built Microsoft through a mischievous strategy. These days the poor, particularly in Africa, love him for his donations to worthy clauses.

In Thailand, society is also critical of Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, the liquor tycoon whose company Thai Beverage owns so many liquor and beer brands, products that have the potential to damage society. However, the poor in remote provinces think of him particularly when the winter comes and blankets become more necessary than food. During that time, on television screens many poor people are seen gathering around bonfires, wrapping themselves with green blankets on which the gold logo of Chang Beer is so apparent.

People who know Vikrom Kromdit of Amata Group have also wondered how this millionaire lives his life. At his office building, there were once wild animals. Yeah, to animal-lovers, he was tormenting the creatures which should be left free in the wild.

Yet when it comes to giving, Charoen and Vikrom are recognised for their roles. They are two of four Thai businessmen listed in the Forbes list of 48 Asian philanthropists.

At 63, Charoen and his wife, Wanna, concentrate their charity on public health, education, culture and sports causes. In the past eight years they have given more than 1.6 million blankets to the poor during the chilly months in northern Thailand. They've also sponsored a 10-year effort to restore the murals in the compound of Wat Po, Bangkok's oldest temple, Forbes said.

Vikrom also plans to turn over most of his US$170-million (Bt5.6-billion) fortune to the Amata Foundation, which promotes arts and culture. Each year it awards a $32,000 lifetime-achievement prize to a writer and another $32,000 in prizes to six young visual artists. He spends much of his time overseeing the construction of the Amata Castle, a 270,000-square-foot museum and performing arts centre that the foundation is building on an Amata estate in Chon Buri.

The other two Thais are Prida Tiasuwan, chairman of Pranda Jewellery, and Nishita Sha, the biggest shareholder of Precious Shipping. While Prida, who founded the Thai chapter of Social Venture Network Asia, is planning a market-based slum-redevelopment project in Bangkok modelled after a venture in Sri Lanka, Shah is a patron and fundraiser for the Queen Sirikit breast-cancer project. With her mother, Anju, she recently gave the centre $160,000 for education, research and construction costs.

In a world where millions are needy, when we focus on the rich should we look more at what they give or what they take?

achara_d@nationgroup.com

The Nation