100 Entrepreneurs Who Changed The World
88. Jim Thompson (1906-1967)
Jim Thompson was an American businessman and designer who almost single handedly saved Thailand’s vital silk industry. He founded the Thai Silk Company in 1948 with George Barrie. In 1951 they had a huge breakthrough, when designer Irene Sharaff made use of Thai silk fabrics for the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, The King and I. From then on the Thai Silk Company was successful. As Thai silks became more popular in the United States, demand rose, stimulating the Thai silk industry which the country is so badly dependent on. Thompson is shrouded in mystery, as he disappeared in 1967. It has now emerged that he was independently backing Asian political factions and often clashing with CIA cold war forces.
