Vietnam's Richest Man: Pham Nhat Vuong Loses $1.3 Billion in Hours

Pham Nhat Vuong, the chairman of Vingroup, has experienced a substantial loss of approximately $1.3 billion within a few hours, according to Forbes data updated on October 19, 2026. Despite this decline, Vuong retains his position as the richest man in Vietnam, with a net worth reported as $32.5 billion by Forbes on that date, ranking 68th on the global billionaire list.

The drop in Vuong's wealth is primarily attributed to a significant decrease in the stock price of Vingroup (stock code: VIC), which fell over 3.7% to 207,000 VND (approximately $8.75) per share, marking its lowest point in nearly two months. Compared to its peak on September 4, the stock has lost about 19% of its value. Vingroup remains the most valuable company on the Vietnamese stock market, with a market capitalization reported as 1.6 million billion VND (1.6 triệu tỷ đồng), equivalent to roughly $68 billion.

“Pham Nhat Vuong continues to be the wealthiest individual in Vietnam, with a net worth of $32.5 billion.”Forbes

Vuong, born in 1968 in Ha Tinh, co-founded Technocom in Ukraine from 1993 to 2001, which later evolved into Vingroup. He has served as chairman of the board since 2011. His wealth is primarily derived from his substantial holdings in Vingroup, VinFast, which is listed on Nasdaq (stock code: VFS), and LPBank (stock code: LPB).

As of the latest data, Vuong directly owns 703.8 million shares of Vingroup, accounting for 9.04% of the company. Additionally, he holds a significant indirect stake through his investment firm, Vietnam Investment Group (VIG), which owns 32.5% of Vingroup. VIG also holds a substantial share of VinFast, with 769,584,044 shares, equivalent to 32.9% of the company.

“Vingroup remains the most valuable company on the Vietnamese stock market.”VNExpress

Despite the recent fluctuations in his wealth, Vuong's financial standing remains significantly ahead of other Vietnamese billionaires. According to Forbes, the combined wealth of the five richest individuals in Vietnam decreased by approximately $1.7 billion over the past week, with Vuong accounting for a large portion of this total. His wealth represents about 72.4% of the total assets of the top five billionaires in Vietnam, underscoring the considerable gap between him and his peers.

Recently, Vingroup was ranked 340th on TIME's World’s Best Companies 2026 list, marking a jump of nearly 500 places from the previous year.