Forbes: Henry Sy still Philippines’ richest

MANILA, Philippines – Mall magnate Henry Sy remains to be the wealthiest Filipino, according to Forbes magazine’s The Philippines 50 Richest List for 2014.

With a net worth of US$12.7 billion, the 89-year-old Sy held the top spot for the 7th straight year. His worth increased by $700 million from last year, thanks largely to the rising share prices of his mall and banking businesses.

Following Sy was tobacco tycoon Lucio Tan, who also retained his place. Tan, 80, has a net worth of $6.1 billion.

Port and casino tycoon Enrique Razon Jr., 54, climbed one place, making him the third richest, with a net worth of $5.2 billion.

The collective wealth of the 50 richest people in the Philippines reached $74 billion in 2014, up 12% from $65.8 billion in 2013.

Forbes said this year’s list reflected two driving forces in the Philippine economy: construction and consumption. Riding on these were former senator Manuel Villar of mall developer Starmalls and DMCI Holdings’ David Consunji. Villar’s net worth reached $1.46 billion, making him the 14th richest man in the country, while Consunji grabbed the 6th spot, with a net worth of $3.9 billion.

New names made it to the list, among them: Ricardo Po of Century Pacific group, Dean Lao of D&L Industries, the Concepcion family of RFM Corporation, and pawnshop titan P.J. Lhuillier of Cebuana Lhuillier.

The minimum amount required to be included in the list was $170 million, up from $105 million in 2013.

See how the country’s richest grew – or lost some of – their wealth (in million US dollars) in 2014, and how they fared since 2006:

Sy and family own the country’s largest largest mall operator, SM Prime Holdings, and bank, Banco de Oro.

Tan consolidated his assets into LT Group, including beer maker Asia Brewery and his stake in tobacco manufacturer Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco. Tan is raising funds to buy back the stake of the San Miguel group in legacy carrier Philippine Airlines.

Razon owns port operator International Container Terminal Services and Bloomberry, which operates the Solaire Resort & Casino in Manila. Bloomberry is expanding Solaire, adding 300 rooms, a mall and a theater.

Tan, 62, is behind Alliance Global, which owns property giant Megaworld, and brandy maker Emperador Distillers. Alliance Global also holds the local franchise of fast food McDonald’s and owns Resorts World Manila.

Gokongwei, 87, controls conglomerate JG Summit, which owns budget carrier Cebu Pacific, food and beverage manufacturer Universal Robina Corporation, and mall and property developer Robinsons.

Consunji, 92, is behind DMCI Holdings, a construction giant that now gets most of its income from power generation, water and real estate.

Ty, 81, 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.

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.

The Zobels own the country’s oldest conglomerate, Ayala Corporation. Ayala has interests in banking (BPI), real estate (Ayala Land), telecommunications (Globe Telecom), and water distribution (Manila Water). The conglomerate is joining hands with the group of Manuel Pangilinan for rail projects the Philippine government is bidding out.

The wealth of the 61-year-old Tan Caktiong comes from his popular fast food business Jollibee, which has the largest chain in the country.

Coyiuto, 61, 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, and chairs one of the Philippines’ largest insurance companies, Prudential Guarantee & Assurance.

This husband-and-wife team owns booming hypermarket chain Puregold. Puregold is the second-largest retail chain in the country, next to Sy family’s SM.

Yap of Philtrust Bank died last year. He was 88. His family vows not to break up the empire he created.

A long-time senator before stepping down in 2013, Villar owns mall developer Starmalls, and property firm Vista Land & Lifescapes. His wife, Cynthia, won a Senate seat in the last elections.

The siblings – cousins of Jaime Zobel de Ayala – inherited their stake in Ayala Corporation from their wealthy aunt.

Yao, 70, founded juicemaker Zest-O, and has a stake in Philippine Business Bank.

86-year-old Gotianun founded and chairs holding firm Filinvest Development, which is engaged in real estate, banking, sugar, hospitality and power.

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, 79, became a billionaire as his widely San Miguel Corporation grew. His fortune fell below 10-digit mark after selling stake in the diversified conglomerate. He, however, still sits as chairman.

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.

– Rappler.com