Five Vietnamese entrepreneurs frequently featured by Forbes

Forbes has named five U.S. dollar billionaires from Vietnam based on stock market data as of last Friday - Pham Nhat Vuong, Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, Tran Dinh Long, Ho Hung Anh, and Nguyen Dang Quang.

They are chairman of Vingroup (HoSE: VIC), chairwoman of Vietjet Air (HoSE: VJC), chairman of steel giant Hoa Phat Group (HoSE: HPG), chairman of Techcombank (HoSE: TCB), and chairman of Masan Group (HoSE: MSN), respectively

These five names have consistently appeared on Forbes’s list of the world’s richest people, underscoring the growing presence of Vietnamese entrepreneurs on the global stage.

Pham Nhat Vuong

As of last Friday (October 10), Vuong ranked 131st on Forbes’s list of global billionaires with a net worth of $18.1 billion. He became the first Vietnamese national to appear on the 2013 list and has remained the wealthiest person in Vietnam by stock market assets ever since.

Domestically, he tops the list of Vietnam’s richest stock market investors with assets exceeding VND350 trillion ($13.29 billion, including both direct and indirect holdings).

The Vingroup chairman and his vast business ecosystem are also seen as having a major influence on the country’s benchmark equity indexes.

Vuong studied in Russia and started a popular instant noodle business in Ukraine in the 1990s before moving back to his home country. Today, he is chairman of Vingroup, one of Vietnam's largest conglomerates with interests in real estate, electric vehicle manufacturing, healthcare, and education, among others.

Vingroup is venturing into energy (renewables and LNG power) and infrastructure development.

In 2017, Vuong made a historic move by launching VinFast’s auto manufacturing complex in Hai Phong city, marking a significant milestone for Vietnam’s car industry. The venture has put Vietnam on the global automobile map.

In 2024, he was named among the world’s 50 most influential figures in the automotive industry by U.S. magazine MotorTrend.

In recent years, Vuong has continued to expand his multibillion-dollar business ecosystem with a series of high-profile additions - steel firm VinMetal, energy developer VinEnergo, VinSpeed that has registered to build the North-South high-speed railway project, and VinDynamics that focuses on R&D and application of humanoid robots.

On the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HoSE), VIC shares closed at VND192,000 ($7.29) apiece last Friday.

Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao

Vietnam's first self-made woman billionaire Thao took her budget airline, VietJet Air, public in 2017. “She launched the airline in 2011 and made a big splash early on with ads featuring bikini-clad flight attendants,” Forbes reported.

“Thao got the idea to launch a low-cost airline while she was a trader, when she predicted that demand for air travel in Vietnam would increase.”

She also has investments in HDBank, technology, green energy, and real estate, including hotels and beach resorts.

Most recently, Sovico Group, controlled by the billionaire, signed an MoU with the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee to study the Metro Line 4 project, which stretches 47.3 km from Hoc Mon to Nha Be.

As of last Friday, her net worth stood at $3.5 billion, placing her 1,161st on the Forbes list. She ranks among the top five wealthiest individuals on Vietnam’s stock market.

On the HoSE, VJC shares closed at VND133,300 ($5.06) per unit last Friday.

Tran Dinh Long

With a net worth of $3 billion, Long ranked 1,343rd on the Forbes list as of last Friday. On Vietnam’s stock market, he is the second-richest investor with assets of nearly VND59 trillion ($2.24 billion).

In 2021, Hoa Phat was ranked among the world’s 50 largest steel producers by the World Steel Association.

In May, Hoa Phat signed an agreement with Germany’s SMS Group under which the latter will provide the former technology and production lines for manufacturing steel rails and shaped steel, with an annual capacity of 700,000 tons.

The production lines are scheduled for completion within 20 months, with the first high-speed rail products expected to roll out in the first quarter of 2027. This investment will make Hoa Phat the only company in Southeast Asia capable of producing steel rails for high-speed railways.

Long once said his ambition was for Hoa Phat to be among the world’s 20 largest steelmakers within the next five to 10 years.

Beyond steel, Long has also made a name in agriculture. Hoa Phat entered the sector in March 2015 with the establishment of Hoa Phat Hung Yen Feeds Limited Liability Company. In February 2016, the group founded Hoa Phat Agricultural Development JSC to oversee and manage all its agricultural subsidiaries.

On the HoSE, VPG shares closed at VND29,600 ($1.12) apiece last Friday.

Ho Hung Anh

Ho Hung Anh had a net worth of $2.6 billion, ranking 1,514th among the world’s billionaires as of last Friday. He is credited with steering Techcombank into Vietnam’s leading private lender.

Ho Hung Anh is also a co-founder and former vice chairman of Masan which is involved in ventures spanning retail, finance, real estate, and technology.

Although he later announced his full departure from Masan to focus on Techcombank, the two groups have maintained close ties and continued to grow alongside each other.

Techcombank currently ranks fifth by market capitalization on the HoSE and third in the banking sector, behind only Vietcombank and VPBank.

On the HoSE, TCB closed at VND39,350 ($1.49) a share last Friday.

Nguyen Dang Quang

Forbes ranked Quang 2,803rd on its list of the world’s billionaires, with an estimated net worth of $1.2 billion.

Masan is among Vietnam’s top fast-moving consumer goods companies, commanding a large market share with a portfolio of popular brands.

Quang’s business ecosystem also includes subsidiaries operating in key sectors such as food and beverages (Masan Consumer Holdings), meat processing (Masan Nutri-Science), and mining (Masan Resources). He also serves as first vice chairman of Techcombank.

Through its subsidiaries, Masan Group holds stakes in several major consumer goods producers in Vietnam, including Masan Consumer (MCH), Vinacafé (VCF), Cholimex Foods (CMF), Vissan (VSN), and Quang Ninh Mineral Water Corporation (QHW).

On the HoSE, MSN shares closed at VND84,100 ($3.19) apiece last Friday.