We can easily find the number of millionaires to be few hundreds. But it's probably only based on stock assets. There are hidden millionaires who own other types of assets, like real estate, gold, jewelry, foreign currencies (not legal anymore) or even cash. Some assets are not in name of the real owners but their relatives. Some people are rich thanks to corruption (which is sadly quite high). And all those people won't disclose their net worth. Thus, it's almost impossible to have an exact number of millionaires (http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/special-reports/2712/real-v...)
So yes, I don't have a reliable source either. Though I believe that there are no less than thousands or even tens of thousands. Buy it or not, your choice :)
Just a random story: three years ago, a 66 years old lady owned around 50 millions USD in various types of assets. The thing is no one, including her adopted daughter, knew that before her sudden death. Would her name be mentioned in the list of millionaires? I don't think so.
Since when a "tiny bit of Googling", not to mention the query is (supposedly) in English, is a reliable source? Hopefully you obtained enough data (preferably in Vietnamese) about distribution of wealth, net worth and sources of income (which people normally don't want to (and sometimes can't) disclose), etc.
I'm not saying that my sentence is absolutely correct. It's my personal experience, based on what I know and observe everyday. I just don't buy your "tiny bit of Googling".
And please, don't rely on common sense. Things that are so called "common sense" are often agreed within a community and not universally correct, regarding to other communities.
That's said, what I was trying to tell is that earning lots of money doesn't automatically make you a huge target. Yes, Vietnam is a poor/developing country. But it's actually quite safe and peaceful, as long as you use "common sense" (our common sense, if that matters). Money is not everything people care about. And for people that really want your money, at least they don't have gun :) (no offense).
Not really. Vietnam has changed quite a lot since the war and the 90s. Someone with a net worth of 1 or 2 millions USD is not considered to be "massive" rich.
So far, the only official comment from the government is that he should pay income tax (which is reasonable I think). It is also stated that he will get a favored tax rate, since the government wants to encourage developers like him and IT sector in general. Note that income tax was introduced quite recently in Vietnam (a few years ago I think) and the tax rate is pretty low, compare to other countries.
Generally speaking people and the media have a positive opinion about Dong. Some even say Vietnam is proud of him, he inspires young Vietnamese developers (communism, remember?), etc. Of course, there are haters, just like anywhere else.
AFAIK, a good fresh graduate can make from $600 to $800/month (of course, depends on multiple factors: what he can do, experience, school, type of company, English, etc).
That "random dude" got a Master's degree in Korea, so his salary is reasonable I think.
He may be a target, but I don't think everyone would chase him for money. Someone who has a net worth of 1 or 2 millions USD is not so rare in Vietnam.
I'm not him. Just happen to be a Vietnamese with the same last name :) "Nguyen" is a common last name in Vietnam, like 40% (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nguyen).
So yes, I don't have a reliable source either. Though I believe that there are no less than thousands or even tens of thousands. Buy it or not, your choice :)
Just a random story: three years ago, a 66 years old lady owned around 50 millions USD in various types of assets. The thing is no one, including her adopted daughter, knew that before her sudden death. Would her name be mentioned in the list of millionaires? I don't think so.
http://kinhdoanh.vnexpress.net/tin-tuc/vi-mo/khoi-tai-san-ng...
http://www.thanhnien.com.vn/pages/20120607/rac-roi-quanh-kho...