Bulakul family

The Bulakul family (บูลกุล) is one of Thailand's first and oldest business families and is of Cantonese Chinese descent, descended from the Ma clan. It traces its origins to Ma Tong-zen (馬棠政, 1871–1923), an engineer who immigrated to Siam in 1888, and his son Ma Liap-khun (馬立群, 1897–1964), who adopted the Thai name Mah Bulakul (มา บูลกุล) in 1941, the surname being granted by Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram, under royal decree. Mah built his fortune from rice milling starting in the early 20th century and was part of the "Big Five" families across Asia to control rice trade, while also holding prominent political positions. The family's business holdings has since expanded under his descendants to form a conglomerate covering real estate, financial services, retail, shipping, food and beverage, and media and entertainment.

Among the family's holdings and past ventures are the Mah Boon Krong Drying and Silo Company (now MBK Group), which expanded into retail under Mah's son Sirichai Bulakul and developed Mahboonkrong Center, one of Thailand's first large-scale shopping malls; Farm Chokchai, a dairy farm and tourist attraction developed by Chokchai Bulakul, another son; and Brooker Group, a listed financial services business headed by Chan Bulakul, Mah's youngest son. The majority of the family's businesses are privately held.