Who Was Chú Hỏa? Unraveling the Legend of Sài Gòn's Richest Man
Chú Hỏa was the affectionate nickname for Huỳnh Văn Hoa, a remarkable immigrant from Fujian, China, who rose from rags to riches in Sài Gòn.
The Man Behind the Name
Born in 1845, Huỳnh Văn Hoa—also known by his literary name Tình Nham or Huỳnh Tú Vinh—hailed from Nan'an County in Fujian Province. His family later moved to Văn Táo village in Hòa Sơn town, under Xiamen (Hạ Môn). At just 20 years old in 1865, he arrived in Sài Gòn with nothing but determination to build a new life.
When he registered for French citizenship to ease his business ventures, he took the name Jean Baptiste Hui Bon Hoa. This was simply the Fujian dialect phonetic spelling of his Vietnamese name Huỳnh Văn Hoa. Some folks misinterpreted it as Hứa Bổn Hòa, but that's just a guess—no real records back it up among Southern Chinese communities back then. The nickname Chú Hỏa stuck with him, and later got linked to his son Huỳnh Trọng Huấn, who represented the family in the early 1900s.
From Rags to Real Estate Empire
Huỳnh Văn Hoa started at the bottom, scraping by as a junk collector with a shoulder pole, hauling scrap metal, bottles, and odds and ends. Legends swirl about his big break: maybe he found a stash of gold hidden in an old mattress, or struck it rich sorting through scrapped telegraph machines bought cheap from the French. Whatever the truth, his honesty and tireless work ethic won over a French boss, who loaned him startup cash for a pawnshop.
From there, he expanded into opium dens, real estate, and construction. He founded the Hui Bon Hoa company, which at its peak owned over 20,000 homes across Sài Gòn and Chợ Lớn. His projects shaped the city—think bustling neighborhoods, apartments, hotels, and even contributions to spots like Bến Thành Market.
Chú Hỏa earned his spot as the fourth in Sài Gòn's "Four Great Tycoons": "Nhất Sĩ, nhì Phương, tam Xường, tứ Hỏa." He passed away in 1901, leaving a fortune to his three powerhouse sons: Huỳnh Trọng Huấn, Huỳnh Trọng Tán, and Huỳnh Trọng Bình. They carried on the legacy, building grand structures like the Huỳnh Vinh Viễn Đường headquarters in the 1920s.
A Lasting Legacy of Humility
Even in wealth, Chú Hỏa stayed grounded. He passed down his old junk-carrying pole to his kids as a reminder: no matter how rich you get, never forget your humble roots or the value of good deeds.
His story inspires—a true self-made man whose grit turned Sài Gòn into a modern hub.
