Red Bull co-founder Chaleo Yoovidhya dies

BANGKOK -- Chaleo Yoovidhya, the self-made Thai billionaire who introduced the world to "energy drinks" and co-founded the globally popular Red Bull brand, has died. He was in his 80s.

Yoovidhya died of natural causes in Bangkok yesterday, according to reports citing the Thai Beverage Industry Association.

Forbes magazine, which ranked Chaleo the 205th richest man in the world this year with a net worth of $5 billion, said he was 80 years old. Several Thai media outlets cited his birthdate as Aug. 17, 1923, however, indicating he was 88. Chaleo died the third richest man in Thailand.

Chaleo started a small company, T.C. Pharmaceuticals, in the 1960s and formulated an energy drink prototype a decade later called Krathing Daeng, or Red Bull in English.

The drink became popular among truck drivers and other blue-collar workers throughout the country, but it remained a local phenomenon until Chaleo met Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz.

Together, they modified Chaleo's formula and founded the Red Bull brand. Launched in 1987, Red Bull now sells billions of slim cans across the world annually.-- AP