Marina Budiman tops list of South-east Asia's five richest women, Forbes shows
Marina Budiman of Indonesia is the wealthiest woman in South-east Asia with a net worth of US$6 billion, followed by Thailand's Somurai Jaruphnit and Vietnam's Pham Thu Huong, each at US$4.4 billion. The ranking comes from Forbes' real-time data and includes heiresses and self-made billionaires from
Marina Budiman from Indonesia is the wealthiest female in the region with a net worth of US$6 billion, according to real-time data from Forbes. The 64-year-old is the cofounder and president commissioner of data centre company DCI Indonesia, a company established in 2011. She cofounded Indonet, the first internet service provider in Indonesia, in 1994. Last year, she ranked eighth among Indonesia's 50 Richest and claimed the 16th place in Forbes' list of World's Richest Self-Made Women.
Somurai Jaruphnit from Thailand is the second-richest woman in South-east Asia with a fortune of US$4.4 billion. The 72-year-old draws her wealth from an 8.42% stake in the holding outfit of the Charoen Pokphand Group, one of the world's largest producers of animal feed and livestock. CP's other assets include stakes in Chinese insurer Ping An, Hong Kong conglomerate CITIC and telecom unit True Corp, as well as Tesco's operations in Thailand and Malaysia.
Pham Thu Huong from Vietnam ranks third in the region, also with US$4.4 billion in wealth, though she ranks lower globally than Jaruphnit. Huong is the wife of South-east Asia's richest man Pham Nhat Vuong, and the couple's main source of wealth is conglomerate Vingroup and its associated companies. The 57-year-old deputy chairwoman of Vingroup has a master's degree in international law from Ukraine and has worked alongside her husband since his early entrepreneurial days in Ukraine. The group's key businesses include electric vehicle maker VinFast, property developer Vinhomes, and hotel chain Vinpearl.
Vanessa Hartono from Indonesia ranks fourth with a net worth of US$4.1 billion, mostly inherited from her late father, Michael "Bambang" Hartono, who died in March 2026 at age 86. The Hartonos acquired a stake in Bank Central Asia after the Salim family lost control of the bank during the 1997–1998 Asian economic crisis. The family's holdings also include prime real estate in Jakarta and electronics brand Polytron, which entered the EV market in Indonesia in 2025.
Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao from Vietnam secured the fifth spot with US$4 billion in wealth. The 56-year-old is Vietnam's first self-made woman billionaire, having launched budget airline Vietjet Air in 2011 and taken it public in 2017. She also has investments in HDBank, technology, green energy, and real estate including hotels and beach resorts.
