THE Sy siblings of the SM group and Manuel B. Villar Jr., are still the country’s richest persons, according to Forbes magazine but said many of the local tycoons’ wealth shrank from the previous year mainly as a result of the pandemic headwinds.
The magazine said the Sy siblings, heirs to the empire built by their late father Henry Sy Sr., retain the top spot but their net worth fell by $4 billion to $12.6 billion, the biggest drop in dollar terms.
Villar, however, defied the odds and added $1.1 billion to his fortunes at $7.8 billion after he listed his real estate investment trust. He remains at number two on the Forbes list, and is also the country’s richest person in terms of individual wealth.
Villar was also featured on the cover of the August issue of Forbes Asia.
“Twelve years ago, businessman and senator Manuel Villar was crushed in his bid to get elected as president, winning only 15 percent of the votes. But that loss didn’t slow him down. He threw himself back into work, scaling up his main business of real estate development. By 2018, share-price gains for his listed companies let him achieve the status of No. 2 on the Philippines’ 50 Richest list, a spot he still holds with a fortune of $7.8 billion,” the magazine said.
“The combined wealth of tycoons on the 2022 Forbes’ list of Philippines’ 50 richest fell to US$72 billion from $79 billion last year, amid the country’s recovery from pandemic headwinds. More than two-thirds of the listees saw their wealth shrink,” it said.
Ports and casino tycoon Enrique K. Razon Jr. came in at number three on the list though his net worth is slightly down to $5.6 billion.
Lance Gokongwei and siblings came in at fourth. The siblings, however, also saw their net worth fall to $3.1 billion from $4 billion last year.
Among the two returnees this year is the Aboitiz family, appearing at fifth on the list with a collective fortune of $2.9 billion, which includes holdings of the broader family. Shares of their holding firm Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. got a boost from its power interests amid rising energy prices.
Record first-quarter earnings of $200 million at engineering conglomerate DMCI Holdings lifted the fortune of Isidro Consunji and siblings by 47 percent to $2.65 billion. They notched up the biggest percentage rise this year and moved up seven spots to sixth.
On the other hand, husband and wife Dennis Anthony and Maria Grace Uy, co-founders of Converge ICT Solutions, were now on 13th place as their wealth fell over $1 billion to $1.75 billion. Shares in their broadband services provider slid following the May announcement that Warburg Pincus was selling a chunk of its holding.
There were two new entrants who replaced their late family members. Among them is the Po family at 16th with $1.2 billion, who inherited the food empire of Ricardo Po Sr. after his death last October. Sylvia C. Wenceslao took over as chairman of real estate developer D.M. Wenceslao and Associates and is at 39th with $340 million, following her husband Delfin J. Wenceslao Jr.’s death last September.
Jollibee Foods Corp. founder Tony Tan Caktiong and family was at seventh on the list with $2.6 billion, Jaime Zobel de Ayala was eighth with $2.55 billion, Ramon S. Ang at ninth at $2.45 billion and property developer Andrew Tan at 10th with $2.4 billion.