Việt Nam has five billionaires with total assets of US$13.6 billion on the recently released Forbes 2019 World Billionaires list, including two newcomers.

Four Vietnamese tycoons have been named in Forbes Billionaires 2018, and they share a common interest in agricultural investment or businesses dedicated to benefiting Vietnamese farmers and the poor.

Việt Nam now has four billionaires named in the annual Forbes list released on Tuesday. This is double the number in last year’s rankings.

Amazon chief Jeff Bezos is now the world's richest person, having snatched the top spot from Microsoft founder Bill Gates who slips to second place, according to Forbes magazine's annual billionaires list published on Tuesday.

Forbes updated the net worth of Phạm Nhật Vượng, founder and chairman of Vingroup, one of Việt Nam’s largest conglomerates, at US$3.4 billion as of Tuesday.

For the first time, two Vietnamese - Vingroup chairman Phạm Nhật Vượng and Sovico Holdings chairwoman Nguyễn Thị Phương Thảo - have featured in the Forbes’s 2017 world’s billionaires list.