This is part of the government’s plan to implement the Politburo’s Resolution No41 on promoting the role of Vietnamese businesspeople in the new development period and recognized by Forbes and Bloomberg.

Forbes’ list of dollar billionaires shows six Vietnamese names, including Pham Nhat Vuong, president of Vingroup and CEO of VinFast with $4.4 billion; Nguyen Phuong Thao, president of VietJet ($2.8 billion); Tran Dinh Long, president of HoaPhat Group ($2.6 billion); Ho Hung Anh, president of Techcombank ($1.7 billion); Nguyen Dang Quang, president of Masan Group ($1.2 billion); and Tran Ba Duong, president of Thaco ($1.2 billion).

The assets of six Vietnamese billionaires as recognized by Forbes in 2024 has totaled $13.9 billion, higher than the $12.6 billion the same period last year.

Forbes’ real-time calculations showed that by the end of May 9, Vuong had $4.4 billion, Thao $3 billion, Long $2.5 billion, Anh $1.8 billion, Quang $1.1 billion and Duong $1.2 billion.

As such, the rankings of billionaires have not changed a lot, except for slight increases in Thao and Anh’s assets.

Meanwhile, a recent report by Knight Frank, the number of ultra-wealthy people ($30 million and more) in Vietnam was 752 in 2023. According to the organization, Vietnam will have 978 ultra-wealthy people by 2028.

Also according to Knight Frank, the growth rate in the number of ultra-wealthy people is relatively high.

However, observers say the real number of ultra-wealthy people in Vietnam is much higher, if counting the billionaires who are not named in any ranking. 

The other names likely to be included on the list of dollar billionaires, provided that their assets increase by 2-3 times are Truong Gia Binh of FPT, Dao Huu Huyen of Duc Giang Chemicals and Nguyen Van Dat of Phat Dat Real Estate.

Nguyen Thi Nga is a well known name among bankers. She is now president of SeABank (SSB) and president of BRG, former president of Intimex Vietnam.

As of the end of 2023, Nga had held 92 million SSB, or 3.7 percent of the bank’s shares. Nga’s relatives had 317.1 million SSB (12.7 percent).

In addition to SeABank, Nga is also a member of board of directors/management of a series of enterprises belonging to the BRG Group ecosystem, including BRG, Intimex Vietnam, Theatre Hotel Co Ltd, Thang Loi Hotel and Hanoi Tourism Service JSC.

BRG is executing Nhat Tan - Hanoi smart city project with investment capital of $4 billion. Under the project, a 108-storey building will be built, the highest in Vietnam.

Nga and her family members now own a lot of golf courses and hotels, including King’s Island golf course in Dong Mo, BRG Ruby Tree Golf Resort in Do Son (Hai Phong) and Legend Hill Golf Resort in Soc Son (Hanoi), and Hilton Hanoi Opera.

Bui Thanh Nhon, president of Novaland, was first listed among Forbes’ billionaires in 2022 with assets worth $2.9 billion by late March 2022.

One dollar billionaire was excluded from Forbes’ list of billionaires in November 2022 was Bui Thanh Nhon of Novaland due to NVL sharp share price decreases. NLV prices once dropped by 90 percent to VND11,000 per share.

NVL prices recovered later, in late 2023, reaching VND22,000-23,000 per share. At this moment, it is traded at VND13,750 per share.

In the last two years, the NLV ownership ratio of the group of shareholders related to Nhon has dropped by 20 percent, from over 60 percent to 40 percent, or 400 million shares (there are 1.95 billion shares in circulation). The assets of the group total VND11 trillion only (VND13,750 per share).

This means that if Nhon is to return to the list of billionaires, NVL prices need to increase by 3 times. Meanwhile, the realtor is facing difficulties and is undergoing debt restructuring. However, observers said it is highly possible that the second largest realtor can recover in the next half decade, which may allow Nhon to make a comeback.

Another potential name for the list of billionaires in the future is Do Anh Tuan, president of Sunshine (KSF) and Sunshine Homes (SSH), who now has $920 million.

Manh Ha