Starting in the 1970s, Tran owned several New York City hotels that became noted for their problems with crime, building safety, and cleanliness.
Tran was born in Hà Tĩnh province in north-central Vietnam to a Roman Catholic family.
[2] Tran was the principal owner of the Vishipco Line, the largest shipping company in South Vietnam in the 1970s.
Tran stated 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 to escape from Vietnam.
[1][4] He let his ships, inclusive the Truong Xuan (with Captain Pham Ngoc Luy) carried free more than 3,000 Vietnamese fleeing Saigon after the Communist invasion.
Tran's complex family life led to a protracted legal battle over his $100 million estate.