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 familyZheng family
Current regionBangkok
Place of originHainan, China
Founded1927
FounderTiang Chirathivat
Current headTos Chirathivat
Connected familiesHouse of Kitiyakara
Hongsakula family
HeirloomsCentral 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

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References

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  1. ^ "Rise of Retail, Thai Style". Wesleyan University Magazine. 20 December 2008. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ "Thailand's 50 Richest: #3 Chirathivat family". Forbes.com. June 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  4. ^ "Central Retail to Expand La Rinascente Stores After Acquisition". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on 2012-07-16. Retrieved 2017-08-04.
  5. ^ "Central in $1bn venture to buy Swiss mall". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 2021-02-07.
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