Why Thailand’s fast cars and polo-loving super-rich get richer in the kingdom of inequality
- While the Southeast Asian nation has 50 billionaires – ninth in global rankings – 14.5 million people live on welfare, making wealth a hot election issue this year
It’s polo season in Thailand and teams of jodhpur-clad Argentines and moneyed Asians gallop onto the flawless field in Chonburi – the capital of Chonburi province on the country’s eastern Gulf of Thailand coast – as spectators spill from a pavilion – glasses of champagne in hand – for the final chukka.
The “Sport of Kings” has been undergoing an unlikely renewal in Thailand, one of the world’s most unequal countries, which went to the polls last month with the widening wealth gap coming into sharp focus.
Thailand boasts 50 billionaires, according to the latest rich list published by China-based researchers at the Hurun Report – the ninth-most in the world and more than France, Japan and Singapore.
Some of that money paid for the play at a recent charity event at the Thai Polo & Equestrian Club, an unexpected oasis of immaculate lawns, wood-panelled changing rooms and stables a stone’s throw from the raucous “Sin City” of Pattaya.
“Is polo elitist? Yes, you cannot deny it is a very elite sport,” says Nunthinee Tanner, the club’s convivial co-founder and doyenne of the Thai equestrian scene.
“A small group plays across the world because it’s very expensive and takes a lot of practice.”
As she speaks, Thai “HiSo” (high society) women in striking millinery and high heels pick their way over the soft turf.
Laughter peals from the Veuve Clicquot tent where men in seersucker and pink trousers have encamped for the day.
“It’s a sport of CEOs and royalty,” Nunthinee says.