Prodigal Thai Prince Agrees to Pay His Credit Card Debt
A top contender for Thailand’s throne—and the $40 billion fortune attached—reached a deal with American Express to pay down tens of thousands of dollars in overdue credit card bills in March, not long after The Daily Beast exposed court proceedings over the debt last month.
Legal documents filed in New York State in March reveal that Vacharaesorn Vivacharawongse, presumed heir to elderly and spectacularly wealthy King Maha Vajiralongkorn, agreed to pay down $94,767.88 in charges he defaulted on in 2023. The schedule of payments would have the balance completely paid down by March 29. It isn’t clear if Vivacharawongse, a lawyer residing in suburban Westchester County, met the deadlines laid out in the deal. He didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
But his financial woes are just one of the dilemmas The Daily Beast discovered confront the prince, nicknamed “Vach.” Far more significant is his marriage to an American woman with whom he co-owns a modest house in Mount Vernon, just north of the Bronx. Thai succession rules forbid somebody married to a foreigner from assuming the crown.