But in terms of An’s value, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
The list of 39 assets in dispute between An and Thuy includes dozens of shares, automobiles, apartments and villas in HCMC and the coastal town of Phan Thiet.
But the list does not include a slew of resorts, villas, townhouses and land the tycoon owns across Vietnam, most of which he acquired after the split.
An has a slew of real estate properties under development in the coastal cities of Nha Trang and Vung Tau, the central mountainous city of Da Lat, and HCMC that are yet to be completed.
The majority of this slew of properties, around 80%, will open “soon” as properties in the accommodation industry and the service sector.
After the divorce, An started building a villa in a pine forest located in central Da Lat in 2016. According to his current wife, former model actress Phan Nhu Thao, the house cost them 25 billion VND. The villa includes a garden and an artificial stream. Most of the furniture, especially all of its wooden items, were imported from overseas.
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Duc An and his wife, former model actress Phan Nhu Thao. Photo from An’s Facebook |
The couple built another villa nearby soon after, but this time in a minimalist Scandinavian style. It was made entirely from imported wood and its rooms are separated by glass walls.
It has three floors and is both a café and an accommodation. Thao once said that it cost them about 40 billion VND to complete this property. According to the couple, they have other land near Tuyen Lam Lake and Da M’ri town, but have no plans to start building it yet.
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An and Thao’s wooden villa in Da Lat. Photo courtesy of NgoiSao |
The two also have two properties in the fishing village of Ninh Phuoc. They completed the construction of their 800 square meter Mediterranean-style beachfront villa in 2022.
Then their neighboring 4,000 square meter family resort opened a year later. An’s family lives in an 80 square meter townhouse in District 1 of HCMC.
They also own other apartments in the city, all located in prime real estate locations. An says he has been investing safely over the past few years as he wants to establish a financial foundation for his wife and child.
He also plans to invest in the Australian and New Zealand property markets, as he and Thao plan to move to one of those two countries once their daughter reaches university.
“My properties are registered under Thao’s or our daughter’s name, or they have the right to inherit,” An says. “I advise Thao on how to do business, so that she can profit herself of these properties.
An, 61, was born in the northern city of Ninh Binh. His parents brought him to the United States when he was 12 years old and his childhood was not rich.
He worked in construction and real estate investment before moving to Vietnam. It is reported that he had been divorced three times before marrying Thao. One of his former wives is model Ngoc Thuy.
Although they divorced 15 years ago, An and Thuy are still in conflict over a list of assets worth around VND288 billion, including real estate, stocks and vehicles.
It is reported that as a holder of American citizenship, An had to “register [Vietnam-based] properties in Thuy’s name”, despite the fact that they “were purchased with his own money [and not related to Thuy].”
The California Superior Court ruled when the two men divorced that Thuy must return those properties to An, which she did not.
So, An filed a lawsuit against her in the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court in 2010. The HCMC court is scheduled to hear the case on August 18.
It would have taken 13 years to do so because the court “needed to obtain documents relating to the properties in dispute”.
