Supercars and champagne: Bangkok's rich purr through pandemic

BANGKOK - As the coronavirus brought the global economy to its knees, Thai businessman Yod decided to buy himself a US$872,000 treat - a lime-green Lamborghini.

Thailand is home to the ninth most billionaires anywhere, according to the China-based Hurun Report's Global Rich List 2020. Lamborghinis"appeal to a very niche audience of high net-worth individuals", said Matteo Ortenzi, chief executive for Automobili Lamborghini in the Asia-Pacific region. "One per cent of the population owns pretty much two-thirds of the country," said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political analyst from Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University, warning that inequality is kindling a political crisis.Farmers are reeling as demand struggles to return to pre-virus levels and remittances from migrants to the cities are drying up, while the urban middle class are facing a cash crunch playing out in unpaid loans and school fees.

Even before the pandemic hit, the number of people living in poverty had risen by nearly two million to 6.7 million, according to a March report by the World Bank.

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