Vietnamese billionaire among world’s 200 richest people

Billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong

According to Forbes’ website, he ranked 194th on the list, with a net worth of US$ 8.25 billion.

This is the highest place ever for Vuong, owner of multi-business conglomerate Vingroup and Vietnam’s first billionaire.

Earlier on July 29, his assets were US$ 8.1 billion, up US$ 1.5 billion compared to Forbes’ statistics in March, thus the billionaire jumped up from 239th place to 204th.

The growth of Vingroup’s shares, notably of Vinhomes JSC (VHM) and Vincom Retail (VRE), is attributable to the surge of Vuong’s assets.

Vuong studied in Russia and started a popular instant noodle business in Ukraine in the 1990s before moving back to Vietnam.

Vuong chairs Vingroup, one of Vietnam’s largest conglomerates with interests in real estate, retail and health care, among others.

Vietnam has three other billionaires in the Forbes list. They are Tran Ba Duong, Chairman of Thaco – the biggest car company of the country, with a net worth of US$ 1.7 billion; Ho Hung Anh, Chairman of Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Techcombank) with US$ 1.6 billion; and Nguyen Dang Quang, the chairman of consumer goods and natural resources firm Masan Group with US$ 1.3 billion.

Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of online retail site Amazon, topped the Forbes list with a US$155.2 billion fortune.

Bezos was followed by Microsoft founder Bill Gates who had US$104.5 billion and Bernard Arnault – CEO of LVMH, the world's largest luxury-goods company – with US$ 100.62 billion.

VNF ( VNA )