Pham Nhat Vuong becomes Southeast Asia's richest person, overtaking Prajogo Pangestu

With assets exceeding $24.5 billion, Pham Nhat Vuong, Chairman of Vingroup, has surpassed Prajogo Pangestu, an Indonesian entrepreneur and founder of Barito Pacific, to become Southeast Asia's richest person. According to Forbes' real-time billionaire rankings as of April 5, Vuong's net worth stood at $24.5 billion, ranking 100th in the world by wealth. Thus, he has overtaken Prajogo Pangestu to become the richest person in Southeast Asia. At the end of 2025, Vuong ranked second among Southeast Asia's wealthiest, behind Pangestu. However, after three months, the Indonesian billionaire's fortune fell from more than $44 billion to $18.6 billion as of April 5, primarily due to about a 60% drop in Barito Pacific's stock since the start of the year. Forbes notes an individual's wealth based on the quantity and price of the shares they hold at a given time. They also evaluate other assets of billionaires when ranking, including stakes in private companies, real estate, artworks, and yachts. Since the start of the year, Vuong's wealth has fallen by nearly $4 billion, mainly due to declines in Vingroup's VIC shares. He and his family control Vingroup, with total ownership around 65%. He personally owns 389.9 million VIC shares, representing about 10.05% of capital. The Chairman of Vingroup was recognized by a renowned American magazine as the first Vietnamese billionaire in 2013. At that time, he owned $1.5 billion and ranked 974th in the world. Thus, after 12 years, Vuong's wealth has grown more than sixteenfold. Vuong's family also includes two other billionaires, Pham Thu Huong and Pham Thuy Hang. The two women officially joined Forbes' list of the world's wealthiest in March this year. Pham Thu Huong is Vuong's wife, with assets of $1.5 billion. The businesswoman, born in 1969, holds a Master’s degree in International Law from Ukraine. She currently serves as Vice Chairman of Vingroup and is also Chairman of GSM—the operator of the Xanh SM taxi and ride-hailing company. Meanwhile, Pham Thuy Hang is Huong's sister. Born in 1974, she graduated in Russian language from Hanoi University (formerly Hanoi University of Foreign Languages). She is also Deputy Chairman of Vingroup, with assets of $1.5 billion. This year, Vingroup aims for revenue of 450 trillion dong, about 36% higher than the same period last year. The company expects after-tax profit of 25 trillion dong, 2.2 times 2025, the highest on record.