Artificial Organs: How Thailand’s Billionaire Barbie plans to live forever

Thailand Billionaire: Sumanee Gunakasem

Sumanee Gunakasem, 87, is a Thai heiress to a land empire. The daughter and eventual wife of diplomats, she has been a billionaire since birth. As the wife of a foreign minister, she spent decades hosting the most elite people in the world, welcoming them with decadence. 

She grows her fortune by buying some of the world’s most expensive and timeless treasures, which she keeps in her Bangkok mansion. On June 12, 2024, we spoke in Ayutthaya, Thailand, about her life to date, her fortune, and her plan to live forever with artificial intelligence.

I spent the year prior to our interview at Sumanee’s side as she hosted events at her mansion, attended slow-paced outings, and eventually celebrated her 87th birthday. The following photographs are select moments I shared with Sumanee over that year.


Thai Billionaire Sumanee Gunakasem checks her makeup before an event.
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Sumanee Gunakasem, Thai Billionaire, plans to live forever. Photographer Matt Hunt
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Sumanee Gunakasem, Thai Billionaire, plans to live forever. Photographer Matt Hunt
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Sumanee Gunakasem, Thai Billionaire, plans to live forever. Photographer Matt Hunt
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Sumanee Gunakasem, Thai Billionaire, plans to live forever. Photographer Matt Hunt
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Sumanee Gunakasem, Thai Billionaire, plans to live forever. Photographer Matt Hunt
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Sumanee Gunakasem, Thai Billionaire, plans to live forever. Photographer Matt Hunt
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Sumanee Gunakasem, Thai Billionaire, plans to live forever. Photographer Matt Hunt
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Sumanee Gunakasem, Thai Billionaire, plans to live forever. Photographer Matt Hunt
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MHUNT SUMANEE 46
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Sumanee Gunakasem, Thai Billionaire, plans to live forever. Photographer Matt Hunt
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MHUNT SUMANEE 06
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