VNExpress-Jan 6
The five richest individuals in Southeast Asia comprise four Indonesians and one Vietnamese, with a combined net worth of over $135 billion. 1. Prajogo Pangestu: Indonesian energy tycoon Prajogo Pangestu, 81, is the richest person in Southeast Asia with a net worth of $38 billion, up almost double from March when Forbes compiled its 2025 list of the world’s top billionaires this year. He ranks 55th globally in wealth. Pangestu built the Barito Pacific Group from a small timber operation in 1979 into one of Southeast Asia’s leading petrochemical and energy conglomerates. Today his core assets include a controlling stake of about 71% in Barito Pacific and majority control of Petrindo Jaya Kreasi in coal and resources. 2. Pham Nhat Vuong: chairman of Vietnam’s biggest company Vingroup, Pham Nhat Vuong, ranks second in wealth at $30.5 billion, a 370% jump from March last year. He is now that 71st richest individual on earth. VinFast led the auto market last year with 170,000 units sold. It also completed factories in India and Indonesia. Vuong, 57, started his career with an instant noodle business in the Ukraine in the 1990s. He returned to Vietnam and founded Vingroup, turning it into a conglomerate with interests in real estate, retail, healthcare, electric car production, and infrastructure, among others. 3. Low Tuck Kwong, 77, ranks third in the region with a net worth of $24.5 billion. The second richest Indonesian saw his wealth falling 18% last year. He is now the 93rd richest person globally. He first set up construction contractor Jaya Sumpiles Indonesia in 1973, then moved into coal by acquiring his first mining concession in Kalimantan in the 1990s. To consolidate these interests, he established Bayan Resources Tbk in 2004, building an integrated model covering mining, processing and logistics that later rode the global coal boom. Bayan Resources since then has grown into a major exporter, producing about 56.9 million tons of coal in 2024 and generating revenue of roughly $3.3 billion. 4&5: Robert Budi and Michael Hartono. Robert Budi Hartono, 85, is Southeast Asia’s fourth richest individual, with a net worth of US$21.7 billion after a 4% decline last year, largely due to an 18% drop in shares of Bank Central Asia, which he controls. His brother Michael is the 5th richest man in Southeast Asia with a wealth of $20.8 billion. Together they control one of the country’s most diversified business empires spanning tobacco, banking, electronics, digital businesses and prime real estate. Budi and Michael inherited the cigarette maker Djarum after their father’s death, at a time when the factory had just suffered a major fire and was in distress. Read more at: https://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/billionaires/southeast-asia-s-five-richest-billionaires-hold-more-than-135b-5002423.html
