Top 10 Wealthiest Tycoons in Vietnam Today

1. Pham Nhat Vuong – Chairman of Vingroup

Founder and chairman of the giant Vingroup, Pham Nhat Vuong is Vietnam's first and richest billionaire. In 2013, Forbes named Vuong Vietnam's first billionaire with a net worth of $1.5 billion. His current net worth, according to Forbes, is a staggering $4.2 billion. Born in 1968 in Hanoi, Pham Nhat Vuong was able to secure a scholarship to study abroad in Moscow. After graduation, he got married and moved to Ukraine with his wife. There, he started his first business, a Vietnamese restaurant.

Later, Pham Nhat Vuong ventured into instant noodles under the brand Mivina, a completely new taste for Ukrainians, and it became an immediate success. When he sold his noodle company, Technocom, to Nestle in 2009, it earned $100 million in revenue. With the money from business in Ukraine, Pham Nhat Vuong returned to Vietnam and invested in real estate, starting with a resort in Nha Trang in 2003 and the Vincom Ba Trieu Center in Hanoi in 2004. Over a decade, Vietnam witnessed the rise of Vingroup as the largest and most efficient real estate developer. The conglomerate is now expanding into retail, logistics, agriculture, education, and healthcare, making Pham Nhat Vuong the wealthiest person in Vietnam.

2. Tran Ba Duong - Chairman of Thaco

Chairman of Thaco - Tran Ba Duong and his wife, Mrs. Vien Dieu Hoa, along with the family's private investment company, Tran Oanh Trading Production Limited Company, are the controlling shareholders with an approximate ownership ratio of 71%. Tran Oanh Company, owned 100% by Mr. Duong and Mrs. Hoa.

Updated as of March 12, 2020, the net worth of billionaire Tran Ba Duong's family is $1.5 billion. Forbes magazine recognizes him as the third richest person in Vietnam after billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong and Mrs. Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao. In the context of 2020, when the assets of Vietnam's billionaires suffered a strong decline, his wealth was not significantly affected. He currently holds 8.62% of Thaco Truong Hai Company's shares. His wife owns 4.94% of Thaco Truong Hai Company's shares. They jointly own 76% and 24% of the shares in Tran Oanh Trading Production and Trading Limited Company, respectively. This company holds 49.72% of the shares in Truong Hai Auto Company.

Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao was named the second billionaire in Vietnam by Forbes in March 2017 with a net worth of $1.2 billion, after her budget airline, Vietjet Air, went public in February. She is the first self-made female billionaire in Southeast Asia and still ranks among Forbes' list of the 100 most powerful women in the world. Her current net worth is $2.3 billion. She also found early success with a scholarship to Moscow, and while in college, she started trading consumer goods between the Soviet Union and Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong, earning her first million dollars at the age of 21.

Returning to Vietnam, Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao initially invested in finance and real estate through Sovico Holdings, a company owned by her and her husband. She is a co-founder of TechBank and VIB and is currently the vice chairwoman of HDBank. Sovico Holdings also owns Furama Resort Da Nang and two other resorts in Khanh Hoa and a project in Ho Chi Minh City. However, Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao is best known as the CEO of Vietjet Air. She launched the airline in 2011 with a successful advertising campaign featuring flight attendants in bikinis. It was the first privately-owned airline permitted to operate in Vietnam, and after five years, the airline achieved 40% of the country's flights.

A newcomer to the real estate sector in Vietnam, Chairman of FLC Group Trinh Van Quyet is fiercely competing with Pham Nhat Vuong for the top position on the Vietnam stock exchange's list of the wealthiest. He started his first business, a tutoring center, while studying Law at Hanoi University, later transitioning to the mobile phone business. After graduation, he founded an investment consulting company, later becoming SMiC Law Company in Hanoi, with offices in Ho Chi Minh City and Singapore.

FLC Group, led by Trinh Van Quyet, was established in 2010 and quickly became an investor in many large-scale projects, such as the famous resorts in Sam Son, Thanh Hoa, and Quy Hue, Binh Dinh. However, part of these projects was built without proper licensing procedures, leading to the use of uncontrolled forest land, later discovered by the Ministry of Construction.

The shining new name among successful entrepreneurs in Vietnam is Mr. Ho Hung Anh. He currently holds the position of Chairman of Techcombank. According to Forbes Vietnam, he is one of the two newcomers to the billionaire list in 2019. His wealth reaches the threshold of $1.7 billion USD, securing the 1,349th position globally.

Mr. Ho Hung Anh was born in 1970 in Hanoi, originally from Thua Thien - Hue. He earned a degree in electronic engineering at the Kiev Polytechnic Institute (Ukraine). While living in Eastern Europe, Ho Hung Anh became acquainted with Nguyen Dang Quang. Forbes describes the relationship between the two billionaires as 'close business partners' and having 'interwoven relationships.' Ho Hung Anh collaborated with Nguyen Dang Quang in managing Mansan Rus Trading in Russia, the precursor to the Masan consumer goods group. He served as the CEO of Masan Rus Trading from 1997 to 2004. According to Forbes, in the 1990s, Ho Hung Anh also traded goods between Vietnam and Eastern Europe.

Ms. Phạm Thúy Hằng, the younger sister of Ms. Phạm Thu Hương - the wife of the wealthiest man in Vietnam, also appears on the list of top rich entrepreneurs. With a wealth of 11.874 trillion VND, she ranks among the top 10 richest individuals. She also holds the position of Vice Chairwoman of the Board of Directors at Vingroup. Ms. Phạm Thúy Hằng remains a mystery to the media as she has not made public appearances.

Phạm Thúy Hằng was born on September 10, 1974, in Hanoi. Her husband, Nguyễn Quốc Thành, currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors at VIC Group. In her early years, Phạm Thu Hương received a complete education and graduated with a bachelor's degree in foreign languages. In the early years of Phạm Thu Hương and Phạm Nhật Vượng's return to Vietnam, she stood side by side with her sister and brother-in-law in the initial days of building the corporation. Thanks to this support, VIC Group experienced rapid development.

Trần Đình Long serves as the Chairman of Hoa Phat Group, a prominent steel conglomerate, earning him the nickname 'Steel King.' He is the third wealthiest individual on the Vietnam stock exchange. Long has been associated with Hoa Phat since the 1990s, transforming it into one of the largest and most profitable steel companies in Vietnam, capturing 21% of the Vietnamese steel market in 2016, according to the Vietnam Steel Association. The company's profit in 2016 amounted to nearly 300 million USD.

In 2007, Hoa Phat Group was officially established. Trần Đình Long shared, 'At that time and even now, there are many companies using names like 'Viet My Steel,' 'Viet Han Steel,' 'Viet Nhat Steel,' 'Viet Phap Steel,' 'Viet Duc Steel'... Some companies and machinery have no connection to the U.S., Korea, Japan, France, etc., but they adopt such names. Initially, I planned to use a combination of names like that, but later realized that Vietnamese products are also something to be proud of. So, I chose 'Hòa Phát' (meaning Harmony & Development – PV) to rename the companies, unify the brand, and in 2007, Hoa Phat Group Joint Stock Company was born. It was a completely correct decision.'

Doan Nguyen Duc emerged as one of the wealthiest individuals in Vietnam approximately a decade ago when Hoang Anh Gia Lai went public in 2008. In the same year, he purchased a Beechcraft King Air 350 worth $7.5 million, realizing his childhood dream of owning a private plane.

Doan Nguyen Duc started a small business making desks and chairs for students in 1990 after four failed attempts to enter a university. Hoang Anh Gia Lai Joint Stock Company was established in 2006 as the business expanded into various industries such as minerals, hydropower, and rubber. Bầu Đức also dominates in sectors like real estate, mining, hydropower, and more. Due to the rapid business development, Bầu Đức's total assets continue to soar.

9. Nguyen Dang Quang – Chairman, Co-founder of Masan Group

The recent Bloomberg Billionaires Index features Nguyen Dang Quang, Chairman and Co-founder of the consumer goods giant Masan Group, recognized as the third international billionaire from Vietnam, boasting a net worth of $1.2 billion. Quang was born in Quang Tri and spent several years in Russia. He holds a Ph.D. in engineering from the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus and an MBA from Plekhanov Russian University of Economics.

Nguyen Dang Quang served as the Deputy CEO of TechBank from 1995 to 1998 and as the Vice Chairman from 1999 to 2000. He co-founded Masan Investment Joint Stock Company, a producer of noodles and chili sauce in Russia, with Ho Hung Anh in 1996. In 2001, he redirected his focus back to the domestic market. Masan Group is now one of the leading food brand owners in Vietnam.

10. Nguyen Duc Tai - Chairman of the Board of Directors of Mobile World Investment Corporation

Nguyen Duc Tai, born in 1969, is currently the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Mobile World. Hailing from Nam Dinh, with the business philosophy of “credibility and sincerity,” he is steering the development of two leading brands, Mobile World and Dien May Xanh, dominating the consumer market in Vietnam.

Nguyen Duc Tai decided to start his entrepreneurial journey with three mobile phone stores but faced failure. Due to the arrogance and complacency of youth, feeling well-educated, and having significant experience, he chose to invest independently and refused to collaborate with others. This attitude led to a significant failure, and he found himself working as an employee again. Determined not to give up, Tai worked in the strategic planning department of a phone company to learn from experience and gain insights into the mobile phone industry. In 2004, he returned with four colleagues to establish Mobile World Investment Corporation with around 2 billion VND (of which he contributed 700 million VND). The project was a combination of an online platform with a retail system for mobile phones.