Latin America

Henry Sy PH’s richest 6 years in a row — Forbes

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The collective wealth of the 50 richest people in the Philippines reaches US$65.8 billion, more than a quarter of the country's total gross domestic product

MANILA, Philippines – The collective wealth of the 50 richest people in the Philippines reached US$65.8 billion in 2013, more than a quarter of the country’s total gross domestic product, according to Forbes magazine’s latest rich list

Mall magnate Henry Sy Sr. held the top spot for the 6th straight year. Following him was tobacco tycoon Lucio Tan, who also retained his place.

Nine new names, including prominent businessman Ramon Ang, made it to the expanded list. In 2012, there were only 40 people in the list.

Forbes said the Philippines now has 17 billionaires, thanks largely to the “buoyant stock market,” which pushed companies’ share prices higher. Two Filipino billionaires made it to the magazine’s world’s richest list – businessman-turned-politician Manuel Villar and the Cebu-based Aboitiz family.

Forbes compiles its lists based on information from individuals, stock exchanges, public documents and analysts.

See how the country’s richest grew – or lost some of – their wealth (in million US dollars), and how they fared since 2006:


Forbes estimated Sy’s wealth at $12 billion. The country’s stellar economic performance — highlighted by a 7.8% growth in first quarter — helped Sy grow his wealth by $2.9 billion. The business group that the 88-year-old heads operates the country’s biggest shopping mall network (SM), the most valuable real estate firm (SM Prime Holdings), and the biggest bank by assets (BDO Unibank).

 

Like Sy, Tan held his spot for the 6th consecutive year. The 79-year-old tobacco king was richer by $3 billion, making him this year’s biggest gainer. Tan consolidated his assets into LT Group, including beer maker Asia Brewery and his stake in tobacco manufacturer Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco, which controls 80% of the market. Tan’s family is looking to sell their remaining stake in legacy carrier Philippine Airlines, after selling part of it to the San Miguel group in 2012.

 

Tan doubled his fortune, climbing 3 spots and grabbing the 3rd place from global port operator Enrique Razon. Tan, 60, is behind Alliance Global, which owns property giant Megaworld and the local franchise of fast food McDonald’s. Alliance Global is also among 4 groups that will build and operate casino resorts in Pagcor’s Entertainment City in Manila.


53-year-old Razon dropped one place, although his wealth grew 25% to $4.5 billion. Razon’s port business International Container Terminal Services saw a rise in shipments, while his gaming arm Bloomberry Resorts reversed its loss this year. Bloomberry was the first to open a casino resort in the Entertainment City.


Gokongwei, 85, fell one place to become 5th richest in the Philippines. The Gokongwei family controls conglomerate JG Summit, which owns budget carrier Cebu Pacific. Cebu Pacific caused the Davao airport to close for 2 days in June after one of its planes overshot the runway. The Gokongweis wanted to partner with Japanese gaming tycoon Kazuo Okada for a casino project in the Entertainment City, but talks fell through in May.

 

Moving up one place, Zobel saw shares of his holding company Ayala Corp. surge by a third owing to strong banking (BPI) and real estate (Ayala Land) revenues. Ayala also has interests in telecommunications (Globe Telecom) and water distribution (Manila Water). The conglomerate is joining hands with the group of Manuel Pangilinan for rail projects government plans to bid out. Zobel was the country’s richest man in 2007.


The family controls Aboitiz Equity Ventures, whose core businesses include power (Aboitiz Power), banking (Union Bank), and food (Pilmico Foods). The family’s fortune was earlier split and listed separately under patriarch Enrique and his nephew Jon Ramon.


Consunji is behind DMCI Holdings, a construction giant that now gets most of its income from power generation, water and real estate. Consunji fell 3 places as his wealth remained unchanged at $2.7 billion.


Ty added $900 million to his net worth, but fell one notch in the list. He is the man behind GT Capital, which controls Metrobank, one of the country’s largest universal banks. GT Capital also has interests in other industries like power, infrastructure and real estate. The company is also engaged in car production through its stake in Toyota Motor Philippines.


This husband-and-wife team made it to the top 10 thanks to booming sales of their hypermarket chain Puregold. Puregold is the second largest retail chain in the country, next to Sy family’s SM.


Caktiong, 60, moved to 11th richest from 12th in 2012. His wealth comes from his popular fast food business Jollibee, which has the largest chain in the country. Jollibee also owns the Burger King franchise.


Caktiong switched places with 60-year-old Robert Coyiuto Jr., who ranked 12th versus 11th in 2012. Coyiuto gets bulk of his wealth from his stake in National Grid, which operates the country’s transmission network. He also owns a luxury car dealership.


Yap, chairman of newspaper Manila Bulletin, jumped 2 places to no. 13. The 87-year-old media tycoon earns mostly from his stake in Philtrust Bank.


Ongpin, 76, fell 5 places to no. 14 when shares of his mining firm Atok Big Wedge plunged following a court order freezing his bank accounts in December 2012. Ongpin and former officials of state-run Development Bank of the Philippines were accused of forging an anomalous loan deal. The freeze order against the former trade minister was lifted in May.


The siblings inherited their stake in Ayala Corp. from their late aunt. They also hold a stake in diversified conglomerate San Miguel through investment firm Top Frontier.

 

Villar, 63, joined the billionaire ranks for the first time. A long-time senator before stepping down this year, he placed 16th richest, up from 18th in 2012. Villar’s family owns property firm Vista Land & Lifescapes. His wife Cynthia won a Senate seat in the last elections.


85-year-old Gotianun, who owns property firm Filinvest Development, retained his place as 17th richest. His company, along with partner Changi Airport of Singapore, was shortlisted for the bidding of the Mactan-Cebu international Airport.


She is the widow of Jose Campos of giant local drugmaker Unilab. Her family holds a stake in global food and beverage manufacturer Del Monte Pacific.


She is president of Mercury Drug, a decades-long industry leader with over 500 drugstores nationwide. Her father, Mariano Que, sold pharmacy items out of a pushcart before opening his first store in 1945.

 

Cojuangco, 78, lost his billionaire status after selling his stake in San Miguel to his right-hand man, Ramon Ang. Cojuangco however still sits as chairman of the company, which has diversified from food and beverage into heavy industries like power and infrastructure.

 

21   Alfonso Yuchengco His family owns a controlling stake in Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation. $705 M
22   Oscar Lopez  He is the chairman emeritus of Lopez Holdings, which owns media conglomerate ABS-CBN. $675 M
23   Betty Ang He is the president of Monde Nissin, the maker of “Lucky Me” instant noodles. $600 M
24    Jorge Araneta His family founded the Ma-ao sugar refinery in Negros province. They own Araneta Coliseum, one of Asia’s biggest indoor sports arenas. $505 M
25   Carlos Chan  He heads snack food firm Liwayway. $500 M
26   Michael Romero  He runs the country’s biggest port in Manila. $490 M
27   Eric Recto  He’s Roberto Ongpin’s nephew who got a boost from an additional stake in Philippine Bank of Communications. He is vice chairman of oil refiner Petron. $485 M
28   Mariano Tan, Jr.  He is one of the 3 founders of drugmaker Unilab. $435 M
29   Frederick Dy  He is chairman of Security Bank. $290 M
30   Walter Brown  He is one of the newcomers in the list. Brown was president of Roberto Ongpin’s Atok Big Wedge. He founded and chairs A.Brown Company. $270 M 
31   Ramon Ang He is president and COO of San Miguel and Eduardo Cojuangco Jr.’s long-time friend. $260 M
32   Jose Antonio He is chairman of property firm Century Properties. $255 M
33   Wilfredo Steven Uytengsu, Jr. & family  He is president and CEO of milk producer Alaska Milk. $250 M
34   Manuel Zamora Jr. He is chairman of miner Nickel Asia. $240 M 
35   Jacinto Ng Sr. He is chairman of Asia United Bank and owner of biscuit maker Rebisco. $230 M 
36    Alfredo Ramos & family His family owns books and office supplies chain National Book Store. $225 M
37   Gilberto Duavit & family He controls television giant GMA Network, along with Felipe Gozon and Menardo Jimenez. $224 M 
38   Menardo Jimenez  He owns a third of GMA Network. $223 M
39   Edgar Sia  He founded Mang Inasal, a Filipino-style grilled chicken chain. $210 M
40   Bienvenido Tantoco, Sr. & family  His family owns upscale department and supermarket chain Rustans. $205 M
41   Felipe Gozon & family He controls and runs GMA Network.  $200 M
42   Alfredo Yao He is known as the country’s “juice king” for his Zest-O brand of beverages.  $180 M 
43   Michael Cosiquien He founded construction firm Megawide. $175 M
44   Edgar Saavedra  He is co-founder of Megawide. $170 M
45   Juliette Romualdez She is the widow of Benjamin Romualdez who previously owned BDO Unibank. She has shares in mining firm Benguet. $165 M
46   Tomas Alcantara & family He owns power and mining firm Alsons Consolidated Resources. $160 M
47   Lourdes Montinola & family  She chairs Far Eastern University. $155 M
48   Luis Virata He owns a stake in miner Nickel Asia. $120 M
49    Philip Ang He is originally in the textile business and is the vice chairman of Nickel Asia. $115 M
50   Manuel V. Pangilinan He is CEO of Hong Kong’s First Pacific, which owns telecom giant PLDT, television network TV5 and power distributor Meralco. $105 M

– Rappler.com

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