Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao

Vietnam's first self-made woman billionaire took her budget airline, VietJet Air, public in February 2017.She launched the airline in 2011 and made a big splash early on with ads featuring bikini-clad flight attendants. The airline, which offers over 300 flights a day, operates more than 40% of the nation's flights.She also has investments in HD Bank and real estate including three beach resorts.In 2018 her holding company, Sovico, announced it will embark on oil exploration with Taiwanese oil refiner CPC Corp.In February 2019, during President Trump's visit to Vietnam, Vietjet signed a $12.7 billion contract to buy 100 more Boeing planes.