His move into the telecommunications and the computer industry came in 1982, when he signed a contract with the Thai police department to supply it with computer software.
In 1987, after 14 years' police service, he resigned to market a film - Bann Sai Thong - and to set up Shinawatra Computer and Communications Group.
Shinawatra initially concentrated on software marketing, and a year later he joined with Pacific Telesis to operate and market the PacLink pager service.
There was a split in the company, with Mr Thaksin going on to start his own successful pager service, Shinawatra Paging.
That evolved into the cellular phone business and Advanced Info Service, which now has the largest customer base in Thailand.
Along the way, Mr Thaksin also launched communications satellites, believing Thailand should have its own satellites and not have to rent space from satellites owned by other nations.
In 1990 he made a successful bid for a 20-year concession from the Telephone Organisation of Thailand, paying £280m in concession fees to gain the contract.
What do you think about the bids?