Vietnam's Vuong tops Southeast Asia's rich list amid market shifts

Manila: Southeast Asia’s richest are reshuffling fast. Collectively, the region's top 10 are now worth more than $183 billion.
Vietnam’s Pham Nhat Vuong tops the region's billionaires, while a record rout in Indonesian stocks has cut the fortunes of the country’s biggest tycoons.
Philippines' ports-and-energy magnate Enrique Razon Jr. has jumped to No. 2, and Thailand’s two energy and agribusiness titans hold the next two spots.
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Singapore’s property families and a 102-year-old Malaysian legend round out the field.
Here are the region’s top 10 by Forbes’ latest estimates (figures move daily with share prices).
#1. Pham Nhat Vuong | Vietnam | ~$36.5 billion | Real estate, EVs, retail
The 58-year-old Vingroup chairman added as much as $2.3 billion in one August day as Vingroup shares hit a record, cementing his lead as the region’s richest person, as per VN Express.
#2. Enrique Razon Jr. | Philippines | ~$20 billion | Ports and logistics.
Chairman of ICTSI, the Philippines’ largest port operator, Razon became the country’s richest person this year, with his fortune up over $10 billion year-on-year as ICTSI shares more than doubled.
#3. Dhanin Chearavanont | Thailand | ~$17.6 billion | Agribusiness, retail, telecom
The 87-year-old senior chairman of Charoen Pokphand Group is reshaping the conglomerate, selling a 10% stake in True Corp. and planning an extra $600 million investment in Vietnam.
#4. Sarath Ratanavadi | Thailand | ~$17.3 billion | Energy, telecom, data centres
Founder of Gulf Development, he was Thailand’s biggest billionaire wealth gainer in Forbes’ latest ranking and plans to invest up to THB140 billion in AI data centres and infrastructure.
#5. Prajogo Pangestu | Indonesia | ~$17.2 billion (Sept. 2) | Petrochemicals, energy
Billionaire Prajogo Pangestu, son of a rubber trader, built Barito Pacific from a timber-trading venture in 1979 into one of Indonesia’s largest energy and petrochemical groups. AS Barito Pacific shares slid, Pangestu’s net worth fell from more than $44 billion to $18.6 billion over three months, driven mainly by a 60% drop in share price. The decline followed Indonesian authorities’ January questioning of transparency in the local stock market and the real value of shares in the country’s largest corporations. As of mid-October 2026, Bloomberg-based trackers put his fortune at about $11.2 billion to $11.4 billion, down roughly $28 billion from the end of 2025.
#6. Low Tuck Kwong | Indonesia | ~$16.4 billion (Oct. 2) | Coal
Singapore-born billionaire Low Tuck Kwong, founder of Indonesian coal miner Bayan Resources, has recently completed the sale of a 30.25% stake to PT Jhonlin Baratama, the investment vehicle of Kalimantan businessman Andi Syamsuddin Arsyad, known as Haji Isam. Low and his daughter Elaine Low sold 10.08 billion Bayan shares, or 30.25% of the company, under a conditional purchase deal signed on Sept. 16 and completed on Oct. 7, as per Indonesian financial portal Pasardana.
#7. Kwek Leng Beng and family | Singapore | $16.1 billion | Property, hospitality
His family’s flagship City Developments has been selling non-core assets while pivoting toward residential and hospitality. Its fortune rose $1.8 billion, keeping second place on Forbes’ Singapore list.
#8. Robert Budi Hartono | Indonesia | $15.0 billion (Oct. 2) | Cigarettes, banking
Robert Budi Hartono is co-owner of Djarum and Bank Central Asia. His partner and brother Michael Hartono died in March 2026, according to IDN Financials, and his fortune has slipped with Indonesia’s stock market, as per IDN Financials.
#9. Robert and Philip Ng | Singapore | $14.3 billion combined | Property
The Ng brothers hold third place on Forbes’ Singapore list. They run Far East Organisation, one of Singapore’s biggest private developers, behind malls, hotels and homes.
#10. Robert Kuok | Malaysia | ~$12.8 billion | Commodities, hotels, property
At 102, Malaysia’s richest man and the “Sugar King” Robert Kuok has built a regional empire. Forbes put his fortune at $12.8 billion on Sept. 22. Robert Kuok’s life is a testament to resilience, vision, and integrity. His legacy resonates far beyond business, inspiring generations to pursue not just wealth but meaningful impact.