Manuel B. Villar Jr., the country’s wealthiest individual, has earned a spot on Forbes Asia’s Heroes of Philanthropy list for 2023, joining 14 other Asia-based philanthropists for their charitable contributions over the past year. Villar, the chairman of the Villar Group, including Vista Land and Lifescapes Inc., was the only Filipino to make the list, which is not ranked.
Forbes Asia highlighted his recent donation of 1.2 hectares of land, valued at P613 million, along with a cash donation to build a church and school in Provence, a residential community in the Philippines. The donation is part of a broader history of giving, which includes a 2019 donation of over 7 hectares of land worth P8 billion to Manila’s Saint Jude Catholic School and the University of the Philippines.
Other notable philanthropists in the list include Lei Jun, cofounder of Xiaomi, who donated 1.3 billion yuan (USD182 million) to Wuhan University for research funding, and Tadashi Yanai, founder of Uniqlo, who contributed USD31 million to support Japanese humanities studies at UCLA.
The list also featured Meta Platforms co-founder Eduardo Saverin and his wife, Elaine, who donated USD15 million to the Singapore American School for STEM education initiatives. Meanwhile, venture capitalist Solina Chau made a notable contribution of HKD$60 million to support high school girls’ university entrance exam fees in Hong Kong.
These philanthropic efforts underscore the growing trend of Asian business leaders using their wealth to support education, research, and community development across the region.
