Vietnam's richest man surpasses 'Wizard of Wall Street' George Soros on Forbes billionaire list

Pham Nhat Vuong, chairman of Vietnam's largest private conglomerate Vingroup, has achieved a net worth of US$7.5 billion, overtaking legendary investor George Soros, also known as the ‘Wizard of Wall Street,’ on Forbes' global rich list.

Vuong now holds the 412th position, while Soros, a Jewish-American investor and founder of the Quantum Fund, ranks 442nd with a net worth of $7.2 billion, according to real-time data from Forbes on Sunday morning.

Soros gained global recognition for his significant role in the 1992 Black Wednesday crisis, where his short selling contributed to the devaluation of the British pound, leading to the UK's exit from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism and earning him the moniker ‘the man who broke the Bank of England.’

Subsequently, investors have also referred to him as the ‘Wizard of Wall Street.’

This sharp increase in Vuong's wealth is largely driven by the strong performance of Vingroup's stock (VIC), which has surged nearly 10 percent in the past week and more than 40 percent over the past month.

These gains have substantially boosted the assets of shareholders, including Vuong himself.

Vuong directly owns approximately 691.27 million VIC shares, representing about 18 percent of the company's charter capital.

Beyond Vingroup, Vuong holds a significant stake in electric vehicle manufacturer VinFast, where he also serves as CEO.

According to Companies Market Cap data, VinFast is currently among the world's top 10 electric vehicle manufacturers, with a market capitalization nearing $8 billion.

Notably, since the beginning of this year, Vingroup's chairman has climbed more than 300 spots on the global billionaire ranking.

Before surpassing Soros, Vuong had overtaken U.S. President Donald Trump in the March 15 update of the Forbes list, when he jumped to 462nd from 611th, with his then wealth of $7.1 billion, surpassing Trump by 248 positions.

Forbes calculates the net worth of global billionaires based on various factors, with stock holdings being a crucial component.

Vuong currently leads among the five Vietnamese billionaires recognized in Forbes' global rich list.

Following him are VietJet Air CEO Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao with $2.7 billion, Hoa Phat Group chairman Tran Dinh Long with $2.3 billion, Techcombank chairman Ho Hung Anh with $1.9 billion, and Masan Group chairman Nguyen Dang Quang with $1 billion.

Their global rankings as of Sunday morning were 1,305th, 1,498th, 1,777th, and 2,740th, respectively.

Previously, Vietnam had six individuals on the global list, including Thaco chairman Tran Ba Duong, who ranked fifth among the Vietnamese billionaires.

However, Duong was removed from the list in the March 11 update after his net worth fell below the $1-billion threshold required for inclusion.

On the global stage, Tesla CEO Elon Musk remains the world’s wealthiest person, with a net worth of $342.9 billion as of Sunday morning, according to Forbes.

He is followed by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos ($209.2 billion), Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg ($199.5 billion), Oracle’s Larry Ellison ($176.3 billion), and LVMH’s Bernard Arnault ($165.2 billion).

Vinh Tho - Binh Khanh / Tuoi Tre News

(2025/03/31-11:24)