Vietnamese billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong becomes 2nd-richest in Southeast Asia

The single-day increase placed Vuong among the world’s top five wealth gainers the same day, alongside Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (up $2.5 billion), Zara founder Amancio Ortega ($2.4 billion), NetEase CEO William Ding ($2 billion), and LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault ($1.7 billion).

With a total net worth reaching $24.7 billion, Vuong now ranks 92nd among the world’s wealthiest people, and becomes the second-richest individual in Southeast Asia, after Indonesian tycoon Prajogo Pangestu, who holds an estimated $42 billion and stands 41st globally.

Pangestu is the founder and chairman of Barito Pacific, a conglomerate active in petrochemicals, energy, coal mining, and renewable power.

Vuong’s sharp rise in wealth was largely attributed to the strong performance of Vingroup’s shares.

At the close of trading on Tuesday, Vingroup’s VIC stock hit VND275,500 ($10.4) per share, up 1.89 percent from the reference price and 6.8 times higher than at the start of the year.

Other stocks within the Vingroup ecosystem, including VHM and VRE, have also posted strong gains in recent months.

Vingroup has been accelerating expansion efforts across real estate, infrastructure, and energy throughout the year.

In March, the corporation launched energy firm VinEnergo, followed by the establishment of several new subsidiaries in October such as steel company VinMetal, high-end retirement hub operator Vin New Horizon, and film production company V-Film.

In early November, Vuong established VinSpace, in which he holds a 71-percent stake.

The firm focuses on scientific research and technology development in natural sciences, alongside activities such as air cargo transport, aircraft and spacecraft manufacturing, and satellite telecommunications.

Vingroup, through its subsidiary VinSpeed, has also proposed participating in the North-South high-speed railway project, which carries a preliminary investment estimate of about VND1.7 quadrillion ($67 billion).

The company has submitted a plan for direct private investment, under which the state would provide 80 percent of the capital as a 30-year interest-free loan, and VinSpeed will arrange the remaining 20 percent.