BANGKOK, THAILAND – Thailand’s richest business families are steering vast fortunes into private education, establishing high-end international schools that target the children of affluent Thai and regional households. The projects, worth billions of baht each, mark a new strategic focus by the country’s corporate elite on luxury education as a long-term growth industry.
Private education becomes a new business pillar
According to the Prachachat Business Report, the new international campuses are being built in Bangkok’s expanding suburbs and in major provincial hubs such as Chonburi, Chiang Mai and Phuket. They are designed primarily for wealthy Thai families and students from neighbouring Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam—collectively known as the CLMV countries.
As family sizes shrink, high-net-worth households are investing more heavily in premium schooling. Budgets exceeding one billion baht (around 30 million US dollars) per project have become common, signalling that leading corporate dynasties view education as a lucrative and enduring sector.
New entrants with global partnerships
Among the most ambitious projects is the SPGS International School Bangkok, spearheaded by Ben Taechaubol, CEO of Country Group Development. The school, set to open in the Rama III district in August 2026, represents an investment of over one billion baht and will bring the 120-year academic tradition of London’s St Paul’s Girls’ School to Thailand.
“Schools are the foundation of a good society,” Ben said. The Taechaubol family is already well-known in the hospitality sector, owning the Four Seasons and Capella Bangkok hotels. The new institution is expected to host 1,800 students aged from three to eighteen and offer more than 200 extracurricular activities each week.
Legacy families expand their educational footprint
The Chokwatana family, owners of the Saha Group conglomerate, has committed more than four billion baht to the King’s College International School Bangkok—believed to be one of the largest single private education investments in the country. The school collaborates with the renowned King’s College School in Wimbledon and is located along Rama III Road.
In Chonburi, the Teepasuwan family has developed Rugby School Thailand on an extensive 1,400-rai (over 550-acre) site, making it the largest international school in the nation by area. Backed by experience from the family’s Srivikorn School, Taya Teepasuwan has linked the educational development with high-value real estate ventures in the country’s Eastern Economic Corridor.
Wider participation from corporate dynasties
Other major players have also entered the market. The Sophonpanich family, known for their banking heritage, runs Shrewsbury International School; the Chearavanont family of CP Group supports Concordian International School; the Kanchanapas family operates Verso International School in a 5‑billion‑baht joint venture; the Pandejpong family leads Denla British School; and the Assakul family owns both St Stephen’s International School and Brighton College Bangkok.
Competition reshaping Thailand’s education landscape
The sector is expected to grow rapidly, with many new schools scheduled to open between 2026 and 2027. Analysts describe the trend as a transformation of Thailand’s private education market, fuelled by corporations discovering the profitability of serving wealthy Thai and international families.
As a result, competition for elite students is intensifying, and the coming years are likely to see unprecedented expansion in international schooling across the country. For Thailand’s business empires, classrooms have become the next frontier for investment—and for national policymakers, the boom raises new questions about equity, regulation and the future of education in an increasingly divided system.