William Heinecke

U.S.-born hotelier William Heinecke came to Thailand as a child and started his first business before he turned 18, hence naming his company Minor.A Thai citizen since 1992, he oversees 513 hotels and resorts, more than 2,000 restaurants and 400 retail stores, spread across 62 countries.Minor's portfolio includes hotel brands such as Anantara, Four Seasons, St Regis and Portugal's Tivoli. Minor also has franchises for such brands as Swensens, Sizzler, Dairy Queen and Burger King. He tripled the size of his hotel portfolio by acquiring Spain's NH Hotels for $2.6 billion in 2018.