Politician turned businessman Manuel B. Villar Jr. remained the country’s richest individual, bested only by the Sy siblings who remain at the top of Forbes magazine’s 50 richest in the Philippines.
Villar, who amassed a fortune in property development, including retail and memorial parks, has estimated net worth of $9.7 billion, according to Forbes.
The Sy siblings—composed of Teresita, Elizabeth, Henry Jr., Hans, Herbert and Harley—have a combined fortune of $14.4 billion. They inherited their fortune from their late father, Henry Sy Sr. They are engaged in the family business of shopping mall operation, retail and banking.
Port and gambling magnate Enrique Razon Jr. is ranked third with $8.1 billion. He is the biggest dollar gainer, thanks to sustained improvement in supply chains that led International Container Terminal Services Inc. shares to jump 24 percent from a year ago, Forbes said.
All three billionaires retained their respective positions from previous.
“Although the economy must now deal with inflation and higher interest rates, the country’s benchmark stock index rose 6 percent from a year ago when fortunes were last measured. As a result, the combined wealth of the country’s 50 richest increased to $80 billion from $72 billion last year,” the magazine said.
Ramon S. Ang, president and CEO at San Miguel Corp., was the biggest gainer among the local billionaires. He moved five spots from the list to jump to number four after his wealth was up nearly 40 percent to $3.4 billion following the acquisition of majority owned Eagle Cement Corp. by San Miguel.
The wealth of husband and wife Dennis Anthony and Maria Grace Uy, co-founders of Converge ICT Solutions Inc. dropped the most in both dollar and percentage terms. Their net worth almost halved to $930 million as shares in the broadband services provider continued to slide following the exit of private equity firm Warburg Pincus last year.
Dean Lao and family, who founded chemical manufacturer D and L Industries Inc., landed on the 23rd spot, followed by Betty Ang president of Monde Nissin Corp. at 24th with $695 million, while Henry Soesanto, company CEO, ranked 29th at $455 million.
The three new entrants are all inheritors, the magazine noted. These are the Gotianun family at number 22 with $850 million. They inherited stakes in conglomerate Filinvest Development from matriarch Mercedes Gotianun, who died last December.
The Yuchengco family, heirs to Alfonso Yuchengco and the largest shareholder at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., also joined the ranks with $420 million and the 33rd richest.
Federico Lopez debuts on the list with $300 million, at number 42. His fortunes were shared with his family after taking over the media, property and power empire from his father, Oscar, who died in April at age 93.
Dennis Uy, the businessman that has close links with the Duterte administration, was still on the list at 31st with $440 million, a plunge from the previous year’s $810 million.
Tony Tan Caktiong, who founded fast food giant Jollibee Foods Corp., was fifth on the Forbes list at $3.2 billion.
The Aboitiz family landed at sixth with $3.15 billion, Lance Gokongwei and siblings came in at seventh with $3 billion, Isidro Consunji and siblings at eight with $2.9 billion, Jaime Zobel de Ayala and family at ninth with $2.8 billion and Lucio Tan at 10th with $2.6 billion.
