How much do the Thai family behind Red Bull earn?

In addition to its eponymous energy drink, Red Bull has an international reputation as a beverage maker in Salzburg, Austria, based in Fuschl am See in Salzburg, Austria. The company is mainly controlled by the Thai family Yoovidhya that invented the drink decades ago. The Yoovidhya family is among the wealthiest Asian business families in terms of net worth and their earnings are rising year after year due to the success of the Red Bull brand.

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The Red Bull brand is one of the most popular soft drinks in the world and has been making soft drinks for more than a century. It has produced sugar-free versions and zero-calorie versions in addition to watermelon, tropical and acai berry-flavored drinks. However, the brand controls 25 percent of the energy drinks market worldwide, making it the world leader in this field.

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Even though it is not known exactly how Red Bull makes its money, it has a huge dominance of the energy drink market, and the brand's Austrian co-founder, the late Dietrich Mateschitz, has mainly benefited from its massive dominance over the energy drink market. The Yoovidhya family as well as Mr. Mateschitz have long earned their income from selling Red Bull.

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However, even though they own the majority shares of the company, the Yoovidhya family is not involved in the day-to-day operations of Red Bull. Mateschitz, who served as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Red Bull until his death in October 2022, took over as CEO after his death. His successor was a board of directors that included three of the company's top executives, Franz Watzlawick as the executive for beverage business, Oliver Mintzlaff as the executive for corporate projects and investments, and Alexander Kirchmayr (chief financial officer).

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According to a recent Trade Algo article, the Yoovidhya family has added more than $7 billion to their net worth every year because they are the majority owner of the company. Trade Algo reported in March 2023 that the Red Bull family had grown its net worth by USD 7.8 billion since January 2022 as a result of their growing market. This was the highest growth for any Asian family of business.

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A brief history of Red Bull and the family's wealth, based on the donation made by the company

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In what way was Red Bull founded?

A company called Krating Daeng was founded in 1976 in Thailand by Chaleo Yoovidhya. He founded TCP (T.C. Pharma) in 1956, and in 1976 he began selling the caffeine-based energy drink under the name Krating Daeng. It was the working class that became most accustomed to the drink following its release, a drink known as ‘Daeng’ which means red in Thai, while 'Krating' is a Thai word for the bison gaur, one of the subcontinent's bison species.

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In a marketing-related trip to Thailand, Dietrich Mateschitz decided that Krating Daeng would cure his jet lag, so he tried it. It was soon that Mateschitz understood the potential of the drink in the Western world, so he approached Yoovidhya to ask permission for a carbonated version of the drink to be produced and then expand the product globally by creating a separate company based in Austria. As a result of Yovidhya's agreement, Red Bull GmbH was established in 1984. The drink was officially launched on April 1 on April 1, 1987.

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Is there a reason why Red Bull is so popular?

Due to the innovative marketing campaign of Red Bull, the brand has gained a large part of the global market and garnered immense popularity across Europe as well as in Middle Eastern, African, American and Asian markets.

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It is actually widely believed that, as Matschitz himself told The Economist in 2002, one of the major factors behind the brand's phenomenal success was its pioneering marketing strategy, which he characterized as, "We don't bring the product to people, we bring people to the product." In fact, this pioneering marketing strategy has contributed significantly to the brand's phenomenal success over the years.

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In addition to the company's core business, it is possible to spot the Red Bull brand and its iconic logo of two fighting bulls at extreme sports events that go beyond its core business. Among the services that Red Bull sponsors are cliff diving competitions, mountain biking competitions, aerobatic flying and professional athletes in other sports, including cricket, among others. In addition to supporting traditional sports like ice hockey, it is also a major sponsor of professional athletes in other sports.

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In 2012, Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner broke several world records by jumping from the edge of space and breaking several world records by becoming one of its biggest global exposures in the Red Bull Stratos project. A report by Trade Algo stated that the jump cost “tens of millions of dollars”, but that it was well worth every penny because it increased brand awareness for the brand.

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It is estimated that the company will spend close to a quarter of its annual revenue on sponsorships and advertising in 2020, equivalent to more than USD 1.7 billion.

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As part of its business model, the company also owns a number of teams, including motorsport teams and association football clubs. It is not surprising that Red Bull Racing is among the most well-known of these teams, winning five Constructors' Championships and six Drivers' Championships over the past five years, including the two victories of Max Verstappen, the current F1 champion.

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As part of its extensive portfolio of professional football teams, Red Bull owns a number of national teams that are notable in their own right, such as Austrian Bundesliga champions FC Red Bull Salzburg, Major League Soccer or MLS team New York Red Bulls, and Bundesliga giant RB Leipzig which has its home ground at Red Bull Arena in Leipzig.

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The company also holds a 50% stake in Berger Logistik, a company that is involved in the transport business of the country, as well as owning its own online streaming TV channel. Still, Red Bull is much more than just sports.

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It is a business that deals with energy drinks

In spite of the fact that it is not entirely clear how the company makes money, an important part of its income comes from its energy drink, which is made with caffeine, sugars, taurine, Alpine water, and vitamins belonging to the B group.

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It is estimated that Red Bull sold 7.5 billion cans worldwide in 2019 due to the current advertising slogan "Red Bull Gives You Wings," and over 12,000 Red Bull employees were working in 171 countries which contributed to the company's global success.

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When the pandemic hit the world two years later, the company had sold more than 9.8 billion cans, which brought many businesses to their knees worldwide during that time. During this period, the company's revenue jumped 24 percent from 2000 to 2005 and was over 10 times higher than in 2000 when it amounted to around USD 8 billion.

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It has been reported that in 2022, the company will sell over 11 billion cans of energy drink beverages and make USD 10.2 billion in revenue, indicating that the global demand for energy drinks has not only reached a record high level, but that Red Bull is also undoubtedly the leader in this market. A total of more than 15,500 people are currently employed within the company.

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It might be that people are prone to drinking energy drinks, which may explain the reason for this success. In a statement to Trade Algo, Simon Chadwick, a professor of sport and geopolitical economy at Skema Business School in Paris, said, “Energy drinks have become synonymous with the lifestyle of active individuals”. He went on to say that those who work long hours will need energy drinks as well.