Billionaire of Vietnamese origin among America’s 400 richest people
Billionaire Hoang Kieu has been included on a list of the 400 wealthiest people in America by Forbes magazine.
Forbes on September 29 released the list of 25 businesspeople who are among the top 400 richest people in America. Topping the list was Hoang Kieu, who owns a fortune of US$3.8 billion.
According to Forbes, Hoang Kieu was born in Vietnam and moved to the US in 1975, when he was 31 years old. He worked for Abbott Laboratories for five years before establishing the company specializing in producing plasma, Shanghai RAAS Blood Products, in 1989.
The company, headquartered in Shanghai, was named one of the best 200 companies capitalized under US$1 billion in Asia in 2012.
The billionaire also owns RAAS Nutritional, a nutritious foods firm, in China, and a red wine company in Napa Valley (California, USA). The company's annual output is around 10,000 bottles, with China and some Asian countries as the main markets.
Hoang Kieu previously intended to bring the Miss World contest to Vietnam in 2008 and 2010, by acquiring a travel company in the southern province of Tien Giang, and spending US$500 million for preparations and activities on the sidelines.
However, this project was unsuccessful and Hoang Kieu transferred the company to his cousin.