In the early 1950s, Loet was set to become head of the Shinawatra kongsi or family business through seniority; of his elder siblings, Khemthong had followed her husband to Bangkok, Sak had entered the army, and Som (Bunsom) had married a former Miss Chiang Mai and shown no aptitude for commerce. But at this point, Loet separated himself from the kongsi and opened a small coffee shop by Sankamphaeng market. Thaksin explained that his father "seemed not so interested in his material inheritance" (Thaksin 1999, 31), but the real reasons for this split can only be imagined.