HANOI (VnExpress-Vietnam News): The rising fortune of Vietnam's Pham Thu Huong, South-East Asia’s second-richest woman, has pushed her higher on the global billionaire rankings, placing her ahead of prominent figures including Oprah Winfrey, Taylor Swift and Beyoncé.
Huong, 57, vice chairwoman of Vingroup, Vietnam’s largest listed conglomerate, had an estimated net worth of US$4.4 billion as of Monday afternoon, ranking 982nd on Forbes’ real-time billionaire list.
That put her ahead of American media mogul Oprah Winfrey, whose fortune stood at $3.4 billion, ranking 1,262nd globally.
Winfrey built one of the most successful careers in American media, rising from local broadcasting to become a talk show host, actress, producer, entrepreneur, and philanthropist.
Her iconic program "The Oprah Winfrey Show" went on to become the highest-rated talk show of its kind, running for 25 years until 2011.
In 2011, Winfrey launched the cable channel OWN. In 2020, she sold most of her stake in the network to its owner, Warner Bros. Discovery, in exchange for shares in the company.
Her extensive real estate portfolio includes homes in California and more than a dozen properties, including 2,100 acres of land in Hawaii.
Huong is also richer than American singer Taylor Swift, whose net worth were at $2 billion at the time of publishing, ranking 2,086th globally.
Swift became a billionaire in October 2023, driven by earnings from her Eras Tour and the value of her music catalog. She is the first musician to join the billionaire ranking primarily through income generated from her songs and live performances.
Swift's fortune includes nearly $800 million earned from royalties and touring, a music catalog valued at an estimated $600 million, and about $110 million in real estate.
Huong also surpassed Beyoncé Knowles in wealth. The American musician had $1 billion in fortunes at the time of publishing, ranking 3,335th in the world.
The majority of the pop star's net worth stems from her nearly three decades as both a solo artist and a member of the girl group Destiny's Child.
Beyoncé holds the record for the most Grammy wins of all time, with 35, after adding three more awards in February 2025, including her first Album of the Year trophy.
Her businesses extend beyond singing. She oversees video production company Parkwood Entertainment, hair care business Cécred, and whisky producer SirDavis.
Huong’s net worth is also higher than Scale AI co-founder Lucy Guo ($1.5 billion), writer J.K. Rowling ($1.2 billion), and singer Rihanna ($1 billion).
Huong this month entered Forbes’ list of the world’s 1,000 richest people for the first time, having been named a billionaire only in February.
She has benefited from a rally in shares of Vingroup, which is chaired by her husband Pham Nhat Vuong, the richest man in Southeast Asia. Vingroup shares have gained around 50% since the start of the year.
In Southeast Asia, Huong trails only Marina Budiman of Indonesia, co-founder and president commissioner of data center operator DCI Indonesia, whose net worth stands at around US$6 billion.
The richest woman in the world is Alice Walton, the only daughter of retail giant Walmart founder Sam Walton. She had a fortune of $118 billion at the time of publication. -- VnExpress-Vietnam News
