FIVE THINGS ABOUT TYCOONS & BABIES

1 13 BABIES BY ONE RICH FATHER

On Tuesday, Japanese businessman Mitsutoki Shigeta, 28, was awarded custody of 13 babies he had fathered by surrogacy in a decision from Thailand’s Bangkok Central Juvenile Court.

2 BANGKOK CONDO FULL OF KIDS

The case started in August 2014 when Thai authorities stormed the Bangkok condo of Shigeta to find nine surrogate babies, each accompanied by a nanny. “I’ve never seen a case like this,” the Thailand director of Interpol said.

3 WANTS 10-15 BABIES EVERY YEAR

Mariam Kukunashvili, founder of the clinic Shigeta used to find surrogate mothers, said he was suspicious of the millionaire’s motives. “He said he wanted 10 to 15 babies a year, and that he wanted to continue the baby-making process until he’s dead,” she said. Thailand banned foreign surrogacy in response to the 2014 incident, and another case where an Australian couple abandoned a baby born to a surrogate when they discovered the baby had Down syndrome.

4 NO EVIDENCE OF TRAFFICKING

But the court found no evidence of human trafficking. Shigeta, son of billionaire businessman Yasumitsu Shigeta, said through his lawyers that he simply wanted a big family. During the trial, Shigeta produced evidence of financial means and a plan to care for the children, including drafted bank accounts and a home near a park in Tokyo. A total of 17 babies were found to be fathered by Shigeta.

5 FLED THAILAND AFTER UPROAR

Shigeta won custody of the other four children born via surrogacy in Thailand before this week’s ruling. Those children were raised in Japan and Cambodia and were well cared for, the court said. Shigeta fled the country after the raid in 2014, the Bangkok Post reported at the time.