​Vietnam's billionaire count drops to 5 as Thaco chairman exits Forbes rich list

​Vietnam's billionaire count drops to 5 as Thaco chairman exits Forbes rich list

Vietnam now has five billionaires on Forbes’ global rich list after Tran Ba Duong, chairman of automaker Thaco, dropped off in the March 11 update.

Tran Ba Duong, chairman of Vietnamese automaker Thaco, speaks at an event. He dropped off the latest Forbes' global rich list following a decline in his net worth. Photo: Huu Hanh / Tuoi Tre

Duong, who first joined Forbes’ billionaire ranking in 2018, saw his fortune steadily decline over the years.

In 2018, his net worth was estimated at $1.8 billion. By early 2025, it had fallen to $1.3 billion, ranking him fifth among Vietnam’s six billionaires.

His wealth continued to shrink in recent months, eventually slipping below the $1 billion threshold required to stay on the list.

He now ranks 2,430th globally.

Thaco first rose to prominence as a used car importer with major revenue streams from supplying spare parts and providing repair services. Over time, it diversified into the real estate and agriculture industries.

Meanwhile, Pham Nhat Vuong, Vietnam’s richest man and chairman of Vingroup, has seen his net worth rise sharply.

As of March 11, Vuong’s fortune reached $6.7 billion, up $2.6 billion since the start of the year. The surge propelled him from 611th to 494th place on Forbes’ global billionaire ranking.

His wealth increase is largely driven by the strong performance of Vingroup’s VIC stock, which climbed nearly 13 percent in the past week and almost 20 percent over the past month.

In addition to shares owned through private companies, Vuong holds 691.27 million VIC stocks, representing approximately 18 percent of the company’s charter capital.

Beyond Vingroup, he holds a significant stake in EV manufacturer VinFast, of which he also serves as CEO.

With Duong’s exit from the list, Vietnam’s remaining five billionaires include Vuong ($6.7 billion), VietJet Air CEO Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao ($2.8 billion), Hoa Phat Group chairman Tran Dinh Long ($2.4 billion), Techcombank chairman Ho Hung Anh ($2 billion), and Masan Group chairman Nguyen Dang Quang ($1 billion).

On the global stage, Tesla CEO Elon Musk remains the world’s wealthiest person with a net worth of $324.3 billion.

He is followed by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos ($212.7 billion), Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg ($209.4 billion), Oracle’s Larry Ellison ($178.5 billion), and LVMH’s Bernard Arnault ($174.2 billion).

U.S.-based business magazine Forbes' real-time billionaire rankings track the daily fluctuations of the world’s richest individuals.

Forbes' real-time billionaire rankings update public holdings every five minutes while stock markets are open, reflecting daily fluctuations in global wealth.

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