French Gates vs Pham Nhat Vuong
Microsoft and Vingroup.
The differences
- Forbes puts Melinda French Gates about $0.5B ahead of Pham Nhat Vuong.Forbes figures from 9 Oct 2026 and 9 Oct 2026.
- Melinda French Gates: through marriage. Pham Nhat Vuong: founded it.
- Melinda French Gates is about 4 years older than Pham Nhat Vuong.
- Melinda French Gates has signed the Giving Pledge; Pham Nhat Vuong has not.
- Melinda French Gates is from United States; Pham Nhat Vuong is from Vietnam.
Put someone else on either side
Side by side
French Gates
Pham Nhat VuongThe money
- Net worth, Forbes
- $34.3BForbes, 9 Oct 2026
- $33.8BForbes, 9 Oct 2026
- Net worth, Bloomberg
- $17.4BBloomberg, 12 Oct 2026
- $30.1BBloomberg, 12 Oct 2026
- Forbes rank
- No. 67Real-Time list, 9 Oct 2026
- No. 68Real-Time list, 9 Oct 2026
- Billionaire since
- Not stated
- Not stated
Where it came from
- How it started
- Through marriageBloomberg: her wealth mainly comes from assets transferred to her in May and August 2021 after her divorce from Bill Gates; Forbes estimates the settlement at $25 billion
- Founded itFounded Technocom, the predecessor of Vingroup, in Ukraine in the 1990s, selling Mivina instant noodles
- Main source
- Assets transferred from Cascade Investment after her 2021 divorceForbes lists Microsoft as her source of wealth
- Vingroup and VinFast stockBloomberg: his fortune is largely his stakes in the two listed companies
- Companies
- MicrosoftMicrosoft: None; former general manager of information products
- Vingroup, VinFastVingroup: Founder and chairman; VinFast: CEO until September 2026
- Biggest stake
- MicrosoftStake not stated
- VinFast97.825% owned
The person
- Born
- 15 Aug 1964Dallas, Texas, United States
- 1968Vietnam
- Country
- United StatesLives in Seattle, Washington, United States
- VietnamLives in Hanoi, Vietnam
- Education
- Graduate degreeBS in computer science and economics (1986) and MBA (1987), Duke University
- Not statedMoscow Geological Prospecting Institute, graduated 1993
- Parents
- Not stated
- Not stated
What they give
- Giving Pledge
- Signed in 2010Co-founded the Giving Pledge
- Not a signer
- Foundation
- Pivotal Philanthropies FoundationPrivate foundation she formed in 2022 within Pivotal; she co-chaired the Gates Foundation from 2000 to 2024
- Kind Heart Foundation (Thien Tam)A non-profit set up by Vingroup
- Lifetime giving
- $52.6BForbes, 9 Feb 2026. Forbes' estimate of what Bill and Melinda Gates have given away together; Forbes publishes no figure for her alone
- Not stated
Role and record
- Role now
- No roleHeads Pivotal, the organization she formed in 2015
- Chair of the boardChairman of Vingroup
- Successor
- Not stated
- Pham Nhat Quan Anh succeeded him as CEO of VinFast Global in September 2026; his wife Pham Thu Huong is a Vingroup vice chairwomanNo successor named as Vingroup chairman
- Public office
- None found
- None found
- Legal record
- None found
- None found
