VietNamNet Bridge - Seven out of 15 of the richest billionaires in 2016 are businessmen in the real estate sector or sectors related to real estate.

Most are real estate developers

Two richest billionaires – Pham Nhat Vuong and Trinh Van Quyet – are the owners of large real estate groups. Their total assets are worth over VND60 trillion.

The list of 15 richest billionaires comprises many other real estate developers – Pham Thu Huong, Pham Thuy Hang (Vingroup), Le Thi Ngoc Diep, Doan Nguyen Duc (Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group) and Nguyet Van Dat (Phat Dat Group).

Most of them are men

Men account for overwhelming proportion in the list of the 15 richest billionaires. They are Pham Nhat Vuong (Vingroup), Tran Dinh Long (Hoa Phat), Nguyen Duc Tai and Tran Le Quan (The Gioi Di Dong), Do Huu Ha (Hoang Huy), Le Phuoc Vu (Hoa Sen Group), Doan Nguyen Duc (Hoang Anh Gia Lai) and Nguyen Van Dat (Phat Dat).

Their total assets are worth VND80 trillion, accounting for 80 percent of total assets of thevtop 15 billionaires.

No technology billionaire

There is no billionaire from the technology field. Nguyen Duc Tai and Tran Le Quan are from The Gioi Di Dong which is a retailer rather than a pure technology firm.

Few billionaires from food and consumer goods

Only two are from food and consumer goods manufacturing sectors. They are Truong Thi Le Khanh from Vinh Hoan Seafood with the total stock assets of VND2.5 trillion, and Nguyen Hoang Yen with VND2 trillion. Yen is associated with some famous brandnames such as Masan, Vinacafe Bien Hoa and Vinh Hao mineral water.

More billionaires in the field are expected to appear in the stock market in 2017 following the listing of a series of enterprises in 2016. 

The billionaire families

There are three couples on the list of the 15 richest billionaires. These include Pham Nhat Vuong and Pham Thu Huong from Vingroup. Huong’s sister – Pham Thu Hang – is also a billionaire. Their total assets are worth VND40 billion.

The other two couples are Trinh Van Quyet and Le Thi Ngoc Diep from FLC (VND30 trillion) and Tran Dinh Long and Vu Thi Hien from Hoa Phat Group (VND10 trillion).

The common characteristic of the couples is that the wives are very quiet. This year’s list of richest billionaires has admitted another quiet wife – Le Thi Ngoc Diep. There is very little information about Diep and Pham Thu Huong.

The information about Hien, the wife of Tran Dinh Long, has not been exposed, including the date of birth hometown, though she is a big shareholder of Hoa Phat.

US$1=VND22,000

Kim Chi