Vietnam’s Pham Nhat Vuong becomes the world’s 59th richest person ($26.2 billion)

Pham Nhat Vuong’s total assets of $26.2 billion, making him the 59th wealthiest man in the world, according to CEOWORLD magazine. The net worth of Vuong, Vietnam’s richest person and Vingroup chairman, is up 4 times that of last year ($6.2 billion). The billionaire was worth $5.3 billion before the bonanza.

The Vietnamese automaker VinFast Auto Ltd. (NASDAQ: VFS), a car-making unit of Vingroup, of which Vuong owns 99% beneficiary shares, listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange Wednesday, a move that pushed Vuong’s assets up by $44.5 billion. VinFast merged with blank-check company Black Spade Acquisition for the purpose of listing.

The shares made their debut at $22 and closed at more than $37, valuing the company at $85 billion, more than Ford’s market capitalization of $48 billion, and General Motor’s $46 billion.

The company has received approval to build a $4-billion auto factory in the state of North Carolina in the U.S. It has shipped nearly 3,000 electric cars to the U.S.

The CEOWORLD magazine derives Vuong’s net worth from his 61% stake in Vingroup, a Hanoi-based conglomerate and the parent company of VinFast Auto Ltd. (NASDAQ: VFS). He also controls 99% of VinFast directly or indirectly — limiting the number of shares available for open-market trading.

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