Together with Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Materschitz, Yoovidhya developed his Thai energy drink brand Krating Daeng ('Red Bull' in English) to develop and launch the world famous Red Bull brand in 1984, developing the drink for western tastes.
The businessman, who was in his 80s, was the third-wealthiest person in Thailand - with a fortune estimated at US $5bn (€3.8bn) - and took 205th place on this year's Forbes list of billionaires. Yoovidhya and Materschitz each owned 49% of Redbull, while Chaleo's son held the balance of shares.