THE SY SIBLINGS remained the richest in the Philippines, as they added $1.8 billion to their net worth this year, Forbes Asia said on Thursday.
The combined wealth of the Philippines’ top 50 tycoons jumped by 11% to $80 billion this year from $72 billion a year ago, despite an economic slowdown.
“More than half of those on the list are wealthier this year, led by the top three,” Forbes Asia said in a statement.
The tycoons’ net worth received a boost from the 6% rise in the Philippine Stock Exchange index from a year ago when fortunes were last measured. The 2023 list used the full-year annual results, based on the latest publicly available figures as of July 22.
The six Sy siblings, namely Teresita, Elizabeth, Henry Jr., Hans, Herbert and Harley, are still the richest in the Philippines with a combined net worth of $14.4 billion, $1.8 billion higher than the previous year’s $12.6 billion. They inherited the wealth from their late father and SM Group founder Henry Sy, Sr., who was the richest man in the Philippines until his death in January 2019.
Property tycoon and former politician Manuel B. Villar is the second richest on the Forbes list as his net income increased by $1.9 billion to $9.7 billion this year. He is still the wealthiest person on the Forbes list.
Mr. Villar owns several listed companies, such as Vista Land & Lifescapes, Inc., VistaMalls, Inc., Golden MV Holdings, Inc., VistaREIT, Inc. and Premiere Island Power REIT, which raised about P2.4 billion when it went public last year.
Ranked third on the list is Enrique K. Razon, Jr., chairman and president of International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI). His net worth jumped by $2.5 billion to $8.1 billion.
Mr. Razon is this year’s biggest dollar gainer on the list, as shares in ICTSI surged by 24% year on year.
San Miguel Corp. (SMC) President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ramon S. Ang is now the fourth-richest in the Philippines, climbing five spots on the list. His net worth surged by 40% to $3.4 billion after his company Eagle Cement was acquired by San Miguel Equity Investment, Inc. for about P12.62 billion.
On the fifth spot is Tony Tan Caktiong, Jollibee Foods Corp. founder and chairman, whose net worth increased by $600 million to $3.2 billion.
The Aboitiz family ranked sixth with an 8.6% increase in net worth to $3.15 billion.
Ranked seventh on the Forbes list are JG Summit Holdings, Inc. President and CEO Lance Y. Gokongwei and his siblings, as their net worth slipped by 3% to $3 billion.
DMCI Holdings, Inc. Chairman Isidro A. Consunji and his siblings ranked eighth on the list as their net worth increased by 9% to $2.9 billion.
Former Ayala Corp. Chairman Jaime Zobel de Ayala and his family are in ninth place as their net worth rose by 7.6% to $2.8 billion.
Rounding out the top 10 is Lucio C. Tan, chairman and CEO of LT Group, Inc., with a net worth of $2.6 billion.
The three new entrants to the Forbes list all inherited their wealth.
The Gotianun family, who inherited the wealth of Filinvest group co-founder Mercedes Gotianun after her death last year, ranked 22nd on the list with a net worth of $850 million.
The Yuchengco family, heirs of tycoon Alfonso Yuchengco and the biggest shareholder of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., landed 33rd place in the list with a net worth of $420 million.
Lopez Holdings Corp. CEO Federico R. Lopez and his family ranked 42nd on the list with a net worth of $300 million. He took over the Lopez Group after his father Oscar died in April.
The minimum net worth to make it to the list was $180 million, down from $185 million in 2022, according to Forbes.
BEST UNDER A BILLIONMeanwhile, four Philippine companies were included in Forbes Asia’s latest list of top-performing publicly traded small and midsized companies in the Asia-Pacific region.
The four companies included this year are Cityland Development Corp., D&L Industries, Inc., SSI Group, Inc., and Wilcon Depot, Inc.
The annual “Forbes Asia’s Best Under A Billion” includes the top 200 companies out of 20,000 publicly listed companies in the region with sales above $10 million and below $1 billion.
“Companies on this year’s list outperformed despite stiff global headwinds like inflation and rising funding costs,” Forbes Asia said in a press release. — AHH