| Nguyễn Thị Phương Thảo | |
| Birth Date: | 7 June 1970 |
| Birth Place: | Hanoi, North Vietnam |
| Education: | Plekhanov Russian University of Economics (BA) D. Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia (PhD) |
| Occupation: | President & CEO, VietJet Air |
| Spouse: | Nguyễn Thanh Hùng |
| Children: | 2 |
Nguyễn Thị Phương Thảo (born June 7, 1970) is a Vietnamese businesswoman, and the President and CEO of VietJet Air,[1] President of Sovico Group and Vice President of HDBank.[2] After Phạm Nhật Vượng, she is the second Vietnamese person—as well as the first Southeast Asian woman—to be recognized by Forbes as a USD billionaire.[3]
Nguyễn Thị Phương Thảo became a millionaire at age 21 while studying finance and economics in Moscow,[4] where she began distributing fax machines, plastic and rubber[5] from Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea in the then Soviet Union. Since then she has developed a portfolio of business interests, including VietJet and Sovico Holdings, that itself holds a 90 per cent stake in Ho Chi Minh City's Dragon City development.[6] She holds two bachelor's degrees in financial credit management and labor economics at the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics and a doctoral degree in economic management at the D. Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia.[7]
She ranked 62nd in the list of Power Women 2016.[8] She is listed in Asia's 50 Power Businesswomen 2016.[9]
After she took VietJet Air public in February 2017,[10] she became Vietnam's first self-made woman billionaire, second billionaire overall (after Phạm Nhật Vượng) and Southeast Asia's only female billionaire. In early 2021, her net worth was estimated at US$2.1 billion. She also has investments in HD Bank and real estate, including three beach resorts.[10] [11] In 2021, she signed a memorandum of understanding with the University of Oxford's Linacre College for a donation of GBP£155million. The college intends to petition the Privy Council to change its name to Thao College.[12] In June 2022, she was featured on the list of the Global 100 by the International Hospitality Institute as one of the 100 Most Powerful People in Global Hospitality.[13]
Phương Thảo has a daughter and a son, Tommy Nguyen. Her son has previously studied at Oxford University's economic management department and has founded an express delivery company with investment from VietJet.[14] [15]