Most recently, Pham Nhat Vuong - President of Vingroup, was called the "Donald Trump of Vietnam" by Forbes and ranked 974th in the list of the world's richest men. 

He is the first Vietnamese on this list, with total assets of nearly $1.7 billion, up from $1.6 billion a year earlier. 2015 is the third consecutive year Vuong has been named on this list.

Born in Hanoi in 1968, Vuong started his career in Ukraine by producing instant noodles, eventually styling himself as Ukraine’s processed-food king. 

By 2010, when Vuong sold the company for an estimated US$150 million to Nestle, his noodle company, Technocom, had revenues of US$100 million.

This highly unconventional post-Soviet success story had a twist. For years Vuong had been gradually funneling the funds from his Ukrainian noodle empire into real estate projects back in his homeland.

In Vietnam, Vuong’s decision to invest in real estate projects resulted in the 225-room, deluxe Vinpearl Resort Nha Trang. Here, again, he found quick success. The next year he introduced Vincom Center Ba Trieu, the first commercial tower complex in Hanoi. Three years later, he added 260 more rooms to Vinpearl, along with a 2-mile cable car connecting the island to the mainland.

Vuong followed this with several high-end townships in Hanoi, including Vincom Village, a luxury development with hundreds of villas. Vincom, comprising Pham’s commercial and residential real estate interests, went public in 2007, while he maintained Vinpearl as a separate company for his luxury resort business.

In September 2009, Technocom changed its name to Vingroup (Vietnam Investment Group) and relocated its headquarters from Kharkov (Ukraine) to Hanoi, Vietnam.

Vuong is the owner of the most famous real estate projects in Vietnam at present, including Vincom Village, Royal City, Vincom Center Hanoi and TP HCM, Times City, Vinpearl Villas Hon Tre, The Beach Villas, Vincom Hai Phong, Vinmec Hospital, and Vincharm Spa network.

2. Doan Nguyen Duc – The first Vietnamese on the list of "Most Influential Entrepreneur in Southeast Asia"

In September 2011, Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group’s Chairman Doan Nguyen Duc was the only Vietnamese on Wall Street Journal’s list of the most influential businessmen in Southeast Asia. He was also considered to have an important role in promoting the private economy of Vietnam.

Duc is one of the richest businessmen in Vietnam. In 2008 and 2009, Duc ranked first on the list of the richest people in Vietnam. In 2012, he ranked second after Pham Nhat Vuong with total assets of VND5,600 billion.

Besides real estate projects in Vietnam, Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group is investing in many large sugarcane-sugar, rubber and estate projects in Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar, which are expected to bring hundreds of millions of US dollars annually.

3. Dang Le Nguyen Vu – Vietnam’s Coffee King 

Dang Le Nguyen Vu, the boss of Trung Nguyen Coffee, is a special brand. The National Geographic Traveller called Vu the "king of coffee" of Vietnam. Forbes gave him the title "zero to hero".

Trung Nguyen is a special enterprise. It is not only famous for coffee products but also the special thinking of its boss - Dang Le Nguyen Vu, who is known for the statement: "Our country cannot be strong without wealthy individuals."

This businessman always encourages Vietnamese youth to be creative and build their career for success. 

Trung Nguyen coffee products have been exported to 60 countries and is gradually infiltrating the US and China markets. Vu believes that Vietnam can go further in the value chain of this industry.

Vu’s personal assets may reach $100 million.

4. Mai Kieu Lien – Asia’s Power Business Woman

In 2012, Mai Kieu Lien, CEO and chairwoman of Vinamilk, Vietnam’s largest dairy producer, was voted one of the top Asian CEOs by the Hong Kong-based Corporate Governance Asia Journal.

This award was part of the seven-month poll "The Best Individuals/Companies of Asia in 2012", based on the appreciation of readers and interviews with relevant investors.

This was the second time Mai Kieu Lien was honored by the Corporate Governance Asia Journal. Previously she was presented the Best Asian CEOs in the field of corporate governance. 

She is also in Forbes' "Asia's 50 Power Businesswomen" list and was described by the magazine to be dynamic and having played a key role in transforming Vinamilk not only "into one of Vietnam's most profitable brands but also a respected name across Asia"

This May Lien was presented with an award of the 20th Nikkei Asia Prizes in the economic and business innovation category for her work.

The Nikkei Asia Prizes were created in 1996 to commemorate the 120th anniversary of Nikkei Inc.'s main Japanese-language newspaper, the Nikkei. It has always aimed to honor individuals and organizations who have contributed to the region’s development and prosperity.

Vinamilk is one of the best-known brands in Vietnam and has 51 percent of the liquid milk market share.
Its revenue hit over $368 million in the first quarter of this year, up 15.6 percent over the same period last year. 

Its revenue in 2014 increased by 14% to $1.7 billion, thanks to two new milk plants.

Vinamilk exports to 30 countries and is now focusing on the Middle East, Africa and Cuba. However, Vinamilk is also facing difficulties. Its profit last year remained the same as the year before because of the high price of raw materials, mainly imported milk powder.

Vinamilk now owns 70 percent of shares in the Driftwood dairy factory, one of the largest dairy plants in California, the US.

5. Pham Thi Viet Nga – The "Steel Rose", the most powerful businesswoman in Asia

Chairwoman of DHG Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Co, Ltd, Pham Thi Viet Nga is one of the two Vietnamese women honored as the most powerful businesswomen in Asia by Forbes, besides Mai Kieu Lien.

Nga was born in 1951 in Can Tho province. She is a chemist and doctor of economics.

Nga has been well known as the businesswoman given credit for turning Hau Giang Pharmacy, based in the Mekong Delta province of Can Tho, into one of the most powerful companies in the pharmacy sector.

When Nga took over Hau Giang Pharmacy, the company’s turnover was modest at VND895 million. Meanwhile, the turnover of the company with nine subsidiaries jumped to VND2,491 billion dong in 2011 and post tax profit VND419.76 billion.

DHG currently produces and trades more than 300 pharmaceutical products and is also involved in the manufacture of containers and packaging. Its net profit rose by 18 percent to $24 million last year.

6. Truong Gia Binh – the first Vietnamese entrepreneur honored by Nikkei

In 2013, Truong Gia Binh, chairman and chief executive officer of the FPT Group, one of the largest IT corporations in Vietnam, was awarded the Nikkei Asia Prize. 

He is the first Vietnamese entrepreneur to be honored by Nikkei Inc. in 18 years. 

Binh received the award in the category of regional growth for having contributed to the development of his own company but also to the development of IT business in Vietnam. He set up a software industry organization and a university to foster IT experts.
 
Binh is also the Vice President of The Asian-Oceanian Computing Industry Organization (ASOCIO), and Chairman of Vietnam Software Association (VINASA).

Binh was born in 1956 in Da Nang. He received a mathematics – physics doctorate from the Lomonosov University in the former Soviet Union and the associate professor title in 1991 in Vietnam.

Binh was one of the founders of FPT group which was established in 1988 as a food processing company. In 2002, the company was equitized and changed its name into the FPT Investment and Technology Development Corporation. 

In early 2008, the corporation changed its name into the FPT Joint Stock Company which is well known in Vietnam in the information technology sector.

By the end of 2011, FPT had 10 subsidiaries with 11,926 workers. The total assets of FPT has reached VND15 trillion dong, while the post tax profit was VND2,080 billion dong.

The success of FPT can show the leading role of Truong Gia Binh who has helped make FPT an information technology symbol in Vietnam.

7. Businesswoman Nguyen Thi Nga  

Nga, Chair of the Southeast Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SeABank), was honored as one of "the powerful female entrepreneurs in Asia 2014" by Forbes.

Nga is one of the richest people in Vietnam.

Nga is also chair and CEO of the King Valley Company Limited, the platform for her to build BRG Group - operating in the fields of finance, banking and real estate.

The BRG Group led by Nga includes: SeABank, King Island Golf Resort (Son Tay District, Hanoi), Do Son Seaside Golf Resort (Hai Phong), Legend Hill Golf Resort (Soc Son District, Hanoi), Hilton Hanoi Opera hotel, and Hilton Garden Inn. Nga has also been the chair of Intimex Vietnam Corporation since 2009.

8. Thai Huong

Thai Huong, the boss of TH True Milk, was this year named on Forbes list of the 50 most powerful businesswomen in Asia.

Thai Huong is the latest representative of Vietnam on this list. She was involved in the dairy sector in 2009 with a commitment to change the dairy industry of Vietnam. Since then, TH Group has invested $450 million to import and raise cows, and to produce clean milk with Israeli technology.

The company now breeds 40,000 cows on 8,100 hectares of farms and plans to raise its farms to 37,000 hectares. TH’s estimated 2014 revenues exceed $200 million, holding a third of the domestic fresh milk market.

This is the biggest rival of Vietnam's largest dairy company, Vinamilk. Thai Huong began doing business in 1994 and is the founder of the North Asia Bank. She is still the president of the bank.

TH Group estimates its 2014 revenue to have exceeded $200 million, with the firm holding a third of the fresh-milk market, a challenge to the country’s biggest milk producer Vinamilk, according to the Forbes report.

9. Nguyen Thi Mai Thanh

Thanh, CEO of REE Corporation, is one of three Vietnamese women honored as the most powerful businesswomen in Asia by Forbes.

Born in 1952, Thanh graduated from Karl Marx Stadt University in 1982 and has been at the helm of REE for the past 26 years.

Thanh is the only woman on the board of directors, where 16 out of the 17 members are male.

She assumed the CEO position at REE in 1985 and since then has been instrumental in assisting the company to maneuver through extremely tough economic times and successfully market its most well-known product, the Reetech air conditioner.

She also led the company in its bid to become the first listed on the Vietnam stock market in 2000.

Thanh once was the member of the board of directors of Sacombank before the position was transferred to her son – Nguyen Ngoc Thai Binh, who is now working as the Chief Financial Officer at REE.

As of February 10, 2015, Mai Thanh and her family held REE shares worth more than VND1,031 billion, of which she personally owned about VND469 billion. Currently, she is ranked 40th on the list of the richest people on the Vietnam Stock Exchange.