Tran Dinh Truong (born 1932) a Vietnamese-American was born in South Vietnam.
Truong was the principal owner of the Vishipco Line, the largest shipping company in South Vietnam in the 1970s. As a shipowner, he earned millions of dollars hauling cargo for the United States military. [1]His actions during the Fall of Saigon have been the subject of debate. Truong states that he used his company’s resources, including 24 commercial ships and hundreds of trucks, to aid in the evacuation of thousands of South Vietnamese civilians and military personnel while the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), defended South Vietnam against the invading Communist North Vietnamese Army and their Viet Cong Agents. Others, including those who took part in the evacuation and a ship captain who worked for Truong, dispute his account. [2]
Truong left Vietnam on April 30, 1975, the day that Saigon fell to the communists [3] Truong boarded one of his eleven ships and traveled to the United States with two suitcases of gold. [4] [5]
He began his hotel business in New York City, first with the Hotel Opera on the Upper West Side in Manhattan, and then Hotel Carter (which was deemed the dirtiest hotel in the US[6] ) in Midtown Manhattan and Hotel Lafayette in Buffalo, New York. Along the way Mr Truong owned and operated other New York hotels as well, including the infamous Hotel Kenmore Hall on 23rd Street which was seized from Truong by the US Marshals Service in 1994 because of deplorable conditions and rampant crime within the building.[7]
After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States he contributed $2 million of his personal funds to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.[8]
In May 2004, Truong was awarded a Golden Torch Award, by the Vietnamese American National Gala in Washington D.C. Mr. Tran is also on the Board of Directors of The United Way of New York City.
Truong is the richest Vietnamese person alive, having total assets worth $1 billion. [9]