Meet the Horner boss who is worth almost 30 times more than Messi and Ronaldo combined

ALLEGED “leaked texts” have called Christian Horner’s position as Red Bull team boss into question, but he still has the backing of Red Bull’s most powerful man.

The British boss was cleared of wrongdoing by his team’s internal investigation on Wednesday, but less than 24 hours later was hit with a dossier containing texts leaked to journalists and F1 team directors.

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The investigation into Horner, which relates to allegations of ‘inappropriate behaviour’, began in February and has led to his previously untouchable position at Red Bull being called into question.

Crucially for Horner, however, he has the support of Red Bull majority shareholder Chalerm Yoovidhya, 73.

The Thai businessman is estimated at Forbes have a net worth of £26.8 billion.

That’s almost 27 times the net worth of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who are believed to be worth almost £1 billion between them.

Yoovidhya inherited much of his wealth when his father Chaleo died in 2012, although he was previously involved in running the Red Bull conglomerate.

He owns 51 percent of the Red Bull company and has veto power over shareholder decisions, making him a very important ally for Horner.

Although not much is known about the Thai businessman’s personal life, he lives in Bangkok and has three children – all potential heirs in the Red Bull dynasty.

According to the Daily emailHe is thought to be incredibly loyal to Horner, and has rebuffed all attempts from within the team to get rid of him.

The businessman has been pictured several times with both Christian and Geri Horner and is believed to have a good personal relationship with the couple.

There has been a power vacuum at Red Bull since the death of Dietrich Mateschtiz, who died in 2022.

Mateschitz founded Red Bull in 1984 together with Chaleo Yoovidhya in a joint Austrian and Thai venture.

Dietrich’s death means his son Mark, 31, inherits his 49 percent stake and while Dietrich was a staunch supporter of Horner, it is believed Mark is not.

He is reportedly joined in the power struggle against Horner by Oliver Mintzlaff, who oversees Red Bull’s other sporting activities as well as F1, Helmut Marko and Max Verstappen’s father Jos, according to reports The mail.

They claim that Mark, along with Red Bull’s Austrian faction, wanted Horner to be dispatched “quickly” while the investigation was still ongoing.

But thanks to the support of Chalern Yoovidhya and the Thai branch of Red Bull, Horner has remained Red Bull’s team boss.