Vuong, 58, chairman of Vietnam’s biggest listed company Vingroup, had a net worth of US$38.4 billion Tuesday afternoon, ranking 55th globally, according to real-time data by Forbes.

Vingroup Chairman Pham Nhat Vuong.

His wealth has risen 35% so far this year, driven by the rally of Vingroup shares as the company deepened its investment in major property and high-speed rail projects.

Shares of Vingroup have increased by 47% since the start of the year and are now hovering around its historic peak.

The stock climb has boosted Vuong’s position up almost 40 places in the global billionaire ranking. In March this year, Forbes listed him as the 93rd richest in the world.

Vuong is now richer than Jay Y. Lee, 58, the executive chairman of Samsung Electronics and the richest person in South Korea, whose fortunes were at $34.6 billion at the time of publishing, ranking 64th globally.

Jay is the grandson of Samsung founder Lee Byung-chul and the son of longtime Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee, making him the third generation of the founding family to lead the group.

He joined Samsung in 1991 and gradually rose through its ranks, becoming vice chairman of Samsung Electronics in 2012 and effectively taking control after his father's illness and death in 2020.

Similar to Vuong, whose wife and sister-in-law are also billionaires, Jay’s younger sisters Boo-jin and Seo-hyun and mother Hong Ra-hee are the second, third and fourth wealthiest in the country, respectively. Together, the family behind Samsung controls over $71 billion in fortunes.

Vuong’s wealth also exceeds that of Chinese tech mogul Jack Ma, 61, whose wealth was at $26.3 billion at the time of publishing, ranking 95th in the world.

Ma, a former English teacher, cofounded Alibaba Group Holding in 1999, helping build it into one of the world's largest e-commerce businesses.

The once high-flying billionaire stepped down as Alibaba's executive chairman in 2019. After spending approximately a year overseas, Ma returned to China in 2023, just as Alibaba unveiled a plan to split itself into six businesses.

Ma remains a mentor to the company and often encourages employees to innovate and adapt amid heightened market competition.

Vuong, the founder of Vietnam’s first fully-fledged automaker VinFast, also surpassed Lei Jun, 56, the founder and CEO of tech giant Xiaomi, in wealth. Lei’s net worth stood at $21.7 billion at the time of publishing, making him the 127th richest in the world.

Founded in 2010, Hong Kong-listed Xiaomi is now one of the world's most popular smartphone brands. In 2021, Lei announced plans to enter the electric vehicle market, describing the venture as his last major startup project.

Xiaomi has since launched a series of pure electric and extended-range models, or hybrids equipped with gasoline-powered engines that can charge the batteries while driving.

It delivered over 411,000 electric vehicles globally last year. In comparison, VinFast's figure for the same period was 196,900 units.

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