3 Vietnamese Billionaires among 1,000 Richest People in the World

TheVietnamese Chairman of Hoa Phat Group has been included on the list of the 1,000 richest billionaires in the world.

Hannah Nguyen

ngminhphuong26@gmail.com March 06, 2022 | 09:01

For the first time, Vietnam has three billionaires in the Top 1,000 richest people in the world.

Vietnam Has 3 Billionaires in Top 1,000 Richest People in the World

Top richest people in Vietnam according to the latest update from Forbes

On the updated list as of March 1, the total assets of six Vietnamese USD billionaires are about USD 18.3 billion, USD 1.6 billion higher than in early 2021, Vietnamnet reported.

Chairman Tran Dinh Long of Vietnam’s largest steelmaker, Hoa Phat Group, surpasses budget airlines Vietjet Air’s chairwoman Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao to become the second richest person in Vietnam.

According to the list of USD announced by Forbes in early 2021, Vietnam had six individuals owning assets of over USD 1 billion. Pham Nhat Vuong, chairman of conglomerate Vingroup, was the richest person in Vietnam with assets of USD 7.3 billion .

In second place was Vietjet's boss - Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao - with a fortune of USD 2.8 billion.

Chairman Tran Dinh Long of Hoa Phat Group. Source: Vietnamnet

Tran Dinh Long, chairman of Hoa Phat Group, and Ho Hung Anh, chairman of the Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Techcombank), ranked the following positions with assets of USD 2.2 billion and USD 1.6 billion, respectively.

The remaining two positions belonged to Tran Ba Duong - the boss of Truong Hai Auto Corporation (Thaco) - and his family with a fortune of USD 1.6 billion and Nguyen Dang Quang, chairman of Masan Group Corporation, with USD 1.2 billion.

After more than a year, these names are still on the list of the world's US dollar billionaires.

According to updated data from Forbes, Tran Dinh Long's assets have increased by USD 1 billion to USD 3.2 billion. He is the Vietnamese billionaire with the strongest net asset growth in the past year.

Long has surpassed Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao to become the second richest person in Vietnam. At the same time, he is also on the list of the 1,000 richest people in the world for the first time. Currently, the chairman of Hoa Phat Group is ranked 997th.

Compared to the first time appearing on Forbes' list of USD billionaires in 2018, Long's assets have increased by USD 1.9 billion, bringing him from 1,756th to 997th.

According to Forbes, the net asset of USD billionaires is determined based on the amount of shares, real estate, cash, valuable investments and minus the amount of debt.

In particular, the main source of assets of Long comes from the number of shares of Hoa Phat Group. Although it has fallen nearly 20% since its peak in October 2021, HPG's share price is still nearly 40% higher than it was a year ago.

In Hoa Phat, Long and his family members are currently the largest shareholders with more than 35%. With the current capital of about VND 211,000 billion (equivalent to USD 9.2 billion), the shares owned by Long and his family in this business is worth more than USD 3.2 billion.

The only Vietnamese billionaire who has recorded a decrease in his assets in the past year is Pham Nhat Vuong. Although he is still the richest person in the country, the owner of Vingroup currently has USD 6.1 billion , down USD 1.2 billion from a year ago.

Most of Vuong's fortune comes from shares owned directly and indirectly in Vingroup, the largest private corporation in Vietnam today. Vuong's assets dropped sharply as VIC share price experienced a downtrend, according to Forbes.

Vietjet Vice President Ho Ngoc Yen Phuong (second from left) and President of Commercial Aerospace at ST Engineering Lam Wai Meng Jeffrey exchanged the technical services and component support contract under the witness of Vietjet President & CEO Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao. Source: Vietjet

Apart from Vuong, the assets of other USD billionaires rose sharply. Tran Dinh Long's assets has increased by USD 1 billion.

The assets of Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao have increased by USD 100 million, currently at USD 2.9 billion, the third richest person in Vietnam and ranked 1,113th in the world.

She is followed by Ho Hung Anh with USD 2.5 billion, up USD 900 million from a year ago, the fourth richest person in Vietnam and 1,267th in the world.

During this period, Nguyen Dang Quang’s assets increased by USD 800 million, to reach USD 2 billion, to be the fifth richest in the country and 1,526th in the world.

In last place is Tran Ba Duong and his family with a fortune of USD 1.6 billion, unchanged from the previous year, currently ranked 1,902nd in the world.

More super-rich people

The number of people with assets worth USD 30 million or more in Vietnam will hit more than 1,500 in 2026, according to the 2022 Knight Frank Wealth Report.

The latest wealth report released by the UK’s Knight Frank, forecasts that the country will see a 26% rise in its rich population by 2026 to 1,551 against the 2021 number at 1,234. The country’s expansion is forecast to be on par with the increase in Hong Kong and Taiwan (China).

The country will also witness a 59% surge in the population of wealthy individuals with a net worth of USD 1 million or more to over 114,800 by 2026. Last year, Vietnam had an estimated 72,135 wealthy individuals.

‘Difficult tasks make for interesting challenges’: Vietnam's richest man

For the first time after two years, chairman of Vingroup Pham Nhat Vuong spoke to VnExpress about helping people overcome the pandemic and realizing the ...