( CNN ) -- Before there was the famous Red Bull , there was Krating Daeng , a sweet energy drink sold in Thailand and a few other countries . Its labels feature two red bulls charging one another . Chaleo Yoovidhya , who with an Austrian entrepreneur transformed his noncarbonated concoction into the global brand Red Bull , died of natural causes Saturday , according to MCOT , Thailand 's national news agency . Chaleo was in his 80s . The self-made business mogul was ranked 205th this year in Forbes ' list of billionaires , with a net worth estimated at $ 5 billion . That made him Thailand 's third wealthiest person . Chaleo also founded TC Pharmaceuticals . Chaleo and Dietrich Mateschitz adapted the formula to Western tastes in 1984 . Krating Daeng translates to Red Bull in English . They each owned 49 % of the privately held company , with Chaleo 's son holding the balance of 2 % . Mateschitz ran the company , according to MCOT . The battling bovines , the slogan `` Red Bull Gives You Wings '' and the berry-flavored drink blended to become a worldwide commercial bonanza . Red Bull , headquartered in Austria , is available in 164 countries worldwide . The company also owns sports and racing teams . Much of Red Bull 's marketing and distribution success is due to Mateschitz , who became aware of `` tonic drinks '' in the Far East . Krating Daeng became popular in Asia in the 1970s and 1980s , especially among truck drivers , construction workers and farmers , according to MCOT . On business trips , Mateschitz tried a drink sold in Thai pharmacies as a revitalizing agent . He noticed it put a dent in his jet lag . `` I realized that these little syrups developed in Japan did extremely well all over Asia , '' Mateschitz told Forbes in 2005 . The Austrian , after studying the market , and Chaleo decided to co-found Red Bull , each investing $ 500,000 in their bid to reach the global market , according to Forbes . Since 1987 , an estimated 30 billion cans of Red Bull have been consumed , according to the company .
Chaleo co-founded MCOT , the energy drink company . He and an Thai entrepreneur started the brand in 1984 . Chaleo had created an early version of the drink in Japan .