Vietnamese-American Entrepreneur and Trump Backer Allison Huynh Secures $64 BILLION in U.S. Investment
Shane Trejo
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VietJet, Vietnam’s first privately owned airline, has announced a $64 billion direct foreign investment aimed at acquiring cutting-edge aviation technology from leading American companies, including Boeing, Pratt and Whitney, Raytheon, and General Electric (GE). This investment is expected to create thousands of well-paying jobs in the United States.
The announcement was made in January during the Indo-Pacific Summit organized by Vietnamese American entrepreneur and Silicon Valley tech mogul Allison Huynh. VietJet’s chairwoman, Madame Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, joined Huynh in making this significant declaration.
The summit took place at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, from January 9-11, where Huynh, a former top Democratic fundraiser turned major Trump supporter, gathered various strategic partners. The event featured President Donald Trump, who personally interacted with attendees, including playing golf with Huynh and posing for pictures with guests and stakeholders.
Huynh has made headlines for her transition from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party. She possesses the original canvas of the Obama “Hope” poster, which played a pivotal role in the former president’s rise. Huynh has since aligned herself with Trump’s campaign, publicly voicing her support across various media platforms.
This investment is newsworthy in light of recent remarks by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who indicated that Vietnam had the third-largest trade deficit with the United States, which stood at $123.5 billion in 2024. The $64 billion investment, announced on February 19, 2025, is projected to reduce the trade deficit by $20-30 billion over the next two years, indicating a positive shift in U.S.-Vietnam trade relations.
Huynh herself gave an emotional account of her childhood experience in war torn Vietnam. She was just six years old when her family fled the country. Huynh’s family was separated during those harrowing days. Huynh’s father was one of the pilots at the U.S. Embassy in Saigon and was forced to leave without his wife, Huynh’s mother, who was pregnant with Huynh at the time. Huynh’s family got lost in the sea of people storming the gates of the embassy, resulting in their separation for 6 long years.
Huynh and her mother would finally be reunited with her father seven years later.
Huynh emphasized the change and growth of Vietnam’s economy ever since the end of the war. The country has vastly changed and the privatization of many of its industries such as airlines and banking.
Vietnam War veterans with deep interests in the cultural, political and strategic relationship between America and Vietnam were also present at the Summit. Joe and Janine Williams, founders of the 200,000 employee-strong Keller Williams real estate company, were also in attendance, as were U.S. Congressional members Lauren Boebert, Abe Hamadeh and Nick LaLota.
During the summit, VietJet and other Vietnamese leaders engaged with key American partners to foster bilateral and multilateral cooperation. Notable attendees included LG, a major Korean electronics firm, and Aurion Capital, its American investment arm.
Experts note that increasing investment opportunities with Vietnam is crucial for U.S. interests, especially in light of China’s expanding influence in the region. Observers note that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is asserting its military might over neighboring countries, making the U.S.-Vietnam partnership more relevant than ever.
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