{"id":340079,"date":"2026-05-24T20:59:34","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T15:29:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=340079"},"modified":"2026-05-24T20:59:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T15:29:34","slug":"nigel-farages-crypto-billionaire-donor-owns-luxury-thai-resort-news-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/05\/24\/nigel-farages-crypto-billionaire-donor-owns-luxury-thai-resort-news-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Nigel Farage&#8217;s crypto billionaire donor owns luxury Thai resort | News World"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t\t<\/div><figcaption>Reform donor Christopher Harborne (Chakrit Sakunkrit) purchased the Kamalaya resort in Koh Samui, Thailand in 2021 (Picture: Handout)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In 2021, the Kamalaya resort in Koh Samui was acquired by billionaire <strong>Chakrit Sakunkrit<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The secluded Thai retreat has since been transformed right into a luxury health spa, complete with monk\u2019s cave, sleek villas and plunge pools.<\/p>\n<p>It has welcomed the wealthy and famous, from Kylie Minogue to Sarah Ferguson.<\/p>\n<p>But its owner, Mr Sakunkrit \u2013 also referred to as Christopher Harborne \u2013 has also poured his wealth into influencing politics 1000&#8217;s of miles away.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Harborne has financed Reform UK and its predecessor, the Brexit Party, to the tune of greater than \u00a322million since 2019.<\/p>\n<p>This included a record-breaking \u00a39million payout last August.<\/p>\n<div class=\"factbox\" data-ico=\"factbox_article\" data-track-module=\"factbox_article\">\n<h2 class=\"factbox-title\">\n\t\t\t\tJoin for all of the newest stories\t\t\t<\/h2>\n<div class=\"factbox-content\">\n<p>Start your day informed with Metro&#8217;s <strong>News Updates<\/strong> newsletter or get <strong>Breaking News <\/strong>alerts the moment it happens. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"431\" src=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-bd85.png?w=646\" class=\"article-image wp-image-28501857\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\">\t<\/div><figcaption>The Soma restaurant on the Kamalaya resort, which offers a menu of healthy low sugar options (Picture: Handout)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The 63-year-old made his fortune as an early investor in cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Ethereum. He also has a stake in Tether.<\/p>\n<p>The Sunday Times Wealthy List ranks him as Britain\u2019s sixth-wealthiest man, with an estimated net price of \u00a318.2billion.<\/p>\n<p>His bankrolling of Nigel Farage\u2019s party got here to a head after it emerged that he had given the politician a \u00a35million gift in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Farage has given different explanations for the massive sum of cash, on one occasion saying it was needed to pay for his personal security, before then suggesting it was an \u2018unconditional\u2019 reward for campaigning for Brexit, a cause supported by Mr Harborne.<\/p>\n<p>The Reform UK leader has himself visited Mr Harborne\u2019s Thai paradise and was pictured on the crypto billionaire\u2019s sixtieth birthday celebrations in 2022.<\/p>\n<p>The resort\u2019s website says Mr Harborne purchased the retreat as a \u2018philanthropic investment\u2019.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"431\" src=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/SEI_297111183-c1dc.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=646\" class=\"article-image wp-image-28372977\" alt=\"FILE PHOTO: Britain's Reform UK leader Nigel Farage reacts next to newly elected councillors and Member of Parliament, Andrew Rosindell at the Havering Town Hall, following the results of the local elections, in the London Borough of Havering, Britain, May 8, 2026. REUTERS\/Jack Taylor\/File Photo\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\">\t<\/div><figcaption>Mr Farage received \u00a35million from Christopher Harborne which he says was a \u2018gift\u2019 (Picture: Reuters)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Its founders, John and Karina Stewart, exited the business completely in 2024, citing incompatibility with Mr Harborne\u2019s philosophy, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk\/news\/politics\/nigel-farage-christopher-harborne-thailand-37197756\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk\/news\/politics\/nigel-farage-christopher-harborne-thailand-37197756\">Mirror<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n<p>The spa now promotes traditional healing methods, while discouraging modern distractions equivalent to cell phone use.<\/p>\n<p>Guests in search of \u2018parasympathetic rest and reset\u2019 or \u2019emotional upliftment\u2019 pays \u00a3172.39 for a private fire ceremony lasting 75 minutes.<\/p>\n<p>There are also one-hour private spiritual guidance sessions costing \u00a3131.56.<\/p>\n<p>One-on-one mantra chanting can also be offered at \u00a363.51 for a 30-minute session.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"348\" src=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/SEI_296962229-4e54-e1779634226232.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=646\" class=\"article-image wp-image-28380827\" alt=\"? Licensed to London News Pictures. FILE PICTURE: 20\/06\/2022. London, UK. Businessman Christopher Harborne arrives at the Victoria and Albert Museum during the Conservative Party Summer Party. Nigel Farage will face an inquiry over a ?5m gift from crypto billionaire Harborne. Photo credit: George Cracknell Wright\/LNP\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\">\t<\/div><figcaption>Mr Harborne has given greater than \u00a322million to Reform UK since 2019 (Picture: George Cracknell Wright\/LNP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Accommodation on site also comes at a staggeringly high price, at \u00a3941 per night for a penthouse suite with a non-public plunge pool.<\/p>\n<p>Guests are treated to a Chinese and Indian inspired offering on the resort\u2019s restaurant, tea lounge, and cafe.<\/p>\n<p>The menu will be personally tailored and focuses on healthy ingredients, equivalent to the usage of stevia as a sweetener as an alternative of sugar.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><strong><strong><strong>Get in contact with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><strong>For more stories like this, <\/strong><strong>check our news page<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><svg><title>Arrow<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#common-right-arrow\" href=\"#common-right-arrow\"><\/use><\/svg><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: Reform desires to make additional time pay tax-free with \u00a35,000,000,000 break<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><svg><title>Arrow<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#common-right-arrow\" href=\"#common-right-arrow\"><\/use><\/svg><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: Elon Musk \u2018backs Restore Britain\u2019 as party vows to \u2018destroy establishment\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><svg><title>Arrow<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#common-right-arrow\" href=\"#common-right-arrow\"><\/use><\/svg><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: Reform councillor\u2019s wife defends his \u2018swastika\u2019 tattoo and says it\u2019s \u2018misunderstood\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<section id=\"share-buttons-bottom\" class=\"share-buttons share-buttons-bottom\"><a class=\"metro-button share-bar-comments\" data-vars-position=\"bottom\" href=\"#metro-comments-container\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t<span><svg><title>Comment now<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#social-comment\" href=\"#social-comment\"><\/use><\/svg><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"share-bar-comments__label\">Comments<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span><svg><title>Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#social-preferred-source\" href=\"#social-preferred-source\"><\/use><\/svg><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"share-bar-preferred-source__label\">Add as preferred source<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/section>\n<div class=\"newsletter-end-card accent--news\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-end-card__inner\">\n<h4>News Updates<\/h4>\n<p>Stay on top of the headlines with each day email updates.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Reform donor Christopher Harborne (Chakrit Sakunkrit) purchased the Kamalaya resort in Koh Samui, Thailand in 2021 (Picture: Handout) In 2021, the Kamalaya resort in Koh Samui was acquired by billionaire Chakrit Sakunkrit. The secluded Thai retreat has since been transformed right into a luxury health spa, complete with monk\u2019s cave, sleek villas and plunge pools. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":340080,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20691],"tags":[1454,6578,36116,52098,5982,395,1952,10884,17844,16646,813],"class_list":["post-340079","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world","tag-billionaire","tag-crypto","tag-donor","tag-farages","tag-luxury","tag-news","tag-nigel","tag-owns","tag-resort","tag-thai","tag-world"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/340079","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=340079"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/340079\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":340082,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/340079\/revisions\/340082"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/340080"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=340079"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=340079"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=340079"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}