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Vietnam’s richest man falls in ranking on Forbes billionaire list

Vietnam’s richest man falls in ranking on Forbes billionaire list

Wednesday, March 04, 2015, 09:29 GMT+7

Pham Nhat Vuong, the wealthiest individual in Vietnam, was ranked at a lower place than last year in the 2015 Forbes Billionaire List released Monday, despite his expanded assets.

With a net worth of US$1.7 billion, Vuong, chairman of real estate conglomerate Vingroup, stood at the 1,118th post on the list, 26 notches lower than his 2014 ranking.

The Vingroup boss topped the 2014 list of the 100 wealthiest people on the stock exchange in Vietnam by VnExpress, with assets worth 20,188.252 ($941 million).

He is also described as “Vietnam's only billionaire” in the 2015 Forbes Billionaire List.

Vuong, 47, spent the past year expanding his conglomerate's real estate business, and saw his assets rise by $100 million over the period, according to Forbes.

“He launched dozens of new projects of which the most notable is Vinhomes Central Park, a $1.5 billion development, which will feature an 81-story skyscraper, expected to be the tallest building in Vietnam,” the magazine said.

Other projects include dozens of apartment buildings and a park modeled after New York City's Central Park and a theme park complex on Phu Quoc Island, which the government plans to turn into a tourist destination.

Vingroup's expansion into retail is underway with 25 Vincom shopping centers due to open in 2015. In the next three years Vuong wants to open 100 supermarkets (VinMart) and 1,000 convenience stores.

Vuong studied in Moscow, then moved to Ukraine where he started Technocom, a maker of instant noodles. He moved back to Vietnam in 2001 to plunge into real estate, eventually selling his foods company in 2009 to Nestlé. Vingroup also has investments in education and healthcare.

The 2015 Forbes Billionaire List, the 29th edition released annually, features a record 1,826 billionaires with an aggregate net worth of $7.05 trillion, up from $6.4 trillion a year ago, according to Forbes.

“Despite plunging oil prices and a weakened euro, the ranks of the world’s wealthiest defied global economic turmoil and expanded yet again,” it commented.

The total includes 290 newcomers, 71 of whom hail from China.

A record 46 among the ranks are under age 40, representing a rise in young billionaires.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates topped the list again with a net worth of $79.2 billion.

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