Although richer than ever before by adding US$100 million to his billion-plus fortune in 2013, Pham Nhat Vuong - considered the only dollar billionaire in Vietnam - dropped to 1,092nd position on the Forbes list of billionaires in 2014, down 118 places from last year.

According to the Forbes ranking of world billionaires, Vuong’s fortune is recorded at $ 1.6 billion. The value of his assets was calculated based on data from February 12.

Vuong would have maintained his 2013 ranking, which was 974th place, if his total fortune had increased to $1.85 billion.

His fortune was $1.5 billion last year when Forbes first added Vuong to the list of the world’s richest people.

On February 12th, the amount of Vingroup shares that Vuong and his wife own directly had a market value of VND25.9 trillion, equivalent to more than $1.2 billion. In addition, Vuong also owns stakes in several other companies.

Forbes did not directly explain the cause of the increase in Vuong’s assets, saying only that 2013 was a busy period for Vietnam’s sole billionaire.

Last year, Vingroup mobilized $1 billion through various channels, while investing in dozens of projects around the country.

Vuong began his career by producing instant noodles in Ukraine;  his assets are now placed in many different areas, including hotels, education and healthcare.

Vingroup is now one of the largest enterprises on Vietnam’s stock exchange with a market value of nearly VND70 trillion.

In 2013, Vingroup achieved their best business results ever when revenue from operations reached VND18.4 trillion and its net profit amounted to nearly VND6.8 trillion.

The majority of revenue comes from the handover of the apartments at the Hanoi-based Royal City and Times City high-end condo projects to customers.

Vingroup also opened two large-scale commercial centers, called Vincom Megamalls, at the condos.

The big picture

Though the global economy has not prospered, the billionaires club this year has welcomed 268 new members, bringing the total number to 1,645 people, with total assets of $6.4 trillion, up sharply from $5.4 trillion a year ago.

The number of female members set a new record at 172, up 42 over last year.

This year, Microsoft founder Bill Gates returned to the top position with $76 billion in assets, $4 billion more than the runner-up, Mexican telecom tycoon Carlos Slim Helu.

Bill Gates has topped the list of Forbes 15 times in the last 20 years.

Zara fashion chain owner Amancio Ortega (Spain) and legendary investor Warren Buffett (U.S.) continue to occupy the two positions behind the duo with assets worth $64 billion and $58.2 billion, respectively.

Billionaire casino operator Sheldon Adelson (US) also made it back to the top 10 list after seven years, raking in an extra $11.5 billion in the past year. Adelson is now worth $38 billion.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg saw the biggest asset value increase at $15.2 billion, bringing his total fortune to $28.5 billion, thanks to the rise in his company’s stocks.

The technology sector contributed a lot of billionaires to the latest ranking. Chief operating officer (COO) of Facebook Sheryl Sandberg and Facebook Vice President Jeff Rothschild are making their first appearance on the Forbes list.

The recent $19 billion deal with WhatsApp also put the two founders of the application, Jan Koum and Brian Acton, on the list.

The U.S. remains to be the country with the most billionaires (492), thanks mostly to a technology stock boom in 2013, followed by China (152) and Russia (111).

A number of new countries such as Algeria, Lithuania, Tanzania, and Uganda also had their tycoons listed in the 2014 Forbes ranking.