VietNamNet Bridge – Only several out of the 195 super rich Vietnamese men whose total assets have reached $20 billion have shown their faces, while the other 195 men’s names remain in the darkness.

The stock billionaires

A consultancy firm and a foreign bank have released the report about the members of the “super rich men’s club” – those, who have the assets of $30 million at least, showing that Vietnam now has 195 super rich men with the total assets of $20 billion, much higher than the last year’s report with 170 members and $19 billion.

While the number of the super rich men in the leading newly emerging economies such as China and Brazil is on the decrease, the number of super rich men in South East Asia, including Thailand and Vietnam, has been increasing rapidly.

The report did not show the list of the members and the way the surveyors followed to make assessments. The information could be sourced from the stock market, banks and enterprises’ finance reports.

If calculating the stock assets only, one would find hundreds of shareholders who hold the amounts of shares worth $2 million and more, while some 20 of them can meet the requirements to be recognized as “super rich.”

Topping the list is Pham Nhat Vuong, the owner of Vingroup, who holds VND18 trillion worth of VIC shares, leaving the second man in the list, Doan Nguyen Duc, President of Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group, who has VND6.2 trillion worth of shares.

The other 8 stock billionaires who have VND1 trillion worth of shares at least include Tran Dinh Long (HPG), Pham Thu Huong (VIC), Pham Thuy Hang (VIC), Nguyen Hoang Yen (MSN), Le Phuoc Vu (HSG), Ho Hung Anh (MSN), Ha Van Tham (OGC) and Vu Thi Hien (HPG).

However, the number of 20 stock billionaires just accounts for 10 percent of the total super rich men. Who are the other super rich men?

The part below the iceberg

The information that the number of super rich men has increased by 15 percent in the context of the economic downturn over the last few years has surprised many people. However, in Vietnamese thoughts, 200 is a reasonable figure. They can see a lot of rich men, whose names cannot be found in any lists of the rich, but live in the houses worth millions of dollars and afford the cars worth tens of millions of dollars.

The rich people who cannot be found in any lists of the rich released by domestic or international institutions have been called the hidden tycoons. Their assets’ value has not been measured by any prestigious institution.

Nguyen Thi Nga from BRG Group, President of SeABank, Vu Van Tien, President of Geleximco Group, who both have properties in many areas in the north, invest in a series of projects on cement, pulp, thermopower, hotel, shopping mall and banks, could be two of them.

The “Island’s King” Dao Hong Tuyen, who is the owner of tens of entertainment complexes, villas and marina, is believed to have the total assets worth $2 billion.

It seems that most of the super rich men have not shown their faces on the stock market. The 195 super rich men have the total assets of $20 billion, much higher than the total assets of $2.2 billion owned by the 19 richest stock billionaires.

Manh Ha